The list of extracurriculars to choose from at MHS are endless. Whether you’re interested in robotics, volunteering or musical theater, there’s definitely a club here for you. One club that many people are interested in joining is Peer Group Connections, more commonly known as PGC. PGC is a class for juniors and seniors which helps them prepare outreaches and group bonding activities for freshmen learning to adjust to the high school. Once you are a sophomore, you may apply for a position in Peer Group Connections for your junior and senior year. If you’re looking to make new friends, become closer with your classmates, and guide freshman through their first year of high school, then PGC might be the club for you. For additional information on Peer Group Connections, here is what Ms. Morgenthaler-one of the program’s advisors- told MDO:

 

MDO: What is the purpose of PGC?

Ms. M: To provide freshmen with a place to easily transition to the high school. So, juniors and seniors are paired up with a whole bunch of freshman in a group, and the freshman then get to ask questions to their leaders that maybe they’d be too scared or worried to ask adults; and they get to meet other freshman that they’ve never met before.

 

MDO: How many students participate in PGC?

Ms. M: Currently in our junior class we have 25 kids and 26 seniors.

 

MDO: What’s your favorite part of PGC?

Ms. M: I love the class. Every year at the beginning of the school year we always look at the class and tell them that by the end of the school year you’re going to be closer than you ever thought you would be, and they all kind of look at us like “oh is that really true?” but by the end of the school year we can’t get them to stop talking to each other because they’ve shared so much and learned so much from each other;  and they all just grew so close and I love seeing that transformation and watching them grow as people.

 

MDO: Why do we have PGC field day?

Ms. M: We have PGC field day as a way to kick off our freshman outreaches so all the different kinds of activities are built for the freshman to learn each other’s names, team build with each other, get to know each other better so that when we ultimately start our outreaches, they have an understanding of who people are in their group and who their leaders are, and they feel more comfortable going into the outreaches.

 

MDO: What is some advice for sophomores who would like to join PGC next year?

Ms. M: Sophomores who’d like to join- I’d say don’t be scared of the application; don’t be scared of the interview process. We love meeting everybody and we want people from all different types of backgrounds. It can be intimidating because a lot of people do try out, but there’s lots of opportunities to talk to us and for us to get to know you so just put yourself out there and try something new!

 

Thank you Ms. Morgenthaler for answering all our questions!