Synergy event opens student eyes and builds empathy

The full-day event teaches over 100 students leadership skills and team building

Melany Jimenez Prado, Pepper Bough Staff Writer|March 10, 2022

Jacob Rivera

Link Crew leaders begin the Synergy event with a group meeting activity.

Synergy was a success. 

On Wednesday, March 9th from 7:30am-2:25pm, Colton High School’s Link Crew held the first full-day Synergy event since COVID in the Hubbs Gym. 

Over 100 students attended the event, which gives CHS students an opportunity to learn leadership skills and meet new people.

Students at Synergy engage in “Cross the Line” an activity that helps them realize they are not alone. (Jacob Rivera)

Link Crew member, senior Nalyn Hull, said Synergy is “to get to know other people and see that you’re not alone.” 

Link Crew organized a total of nine activities, including “Red box,” “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” “Tag,” “I Love All My Peeps That ___,” “Cross the Line,” and more. These activities all encouraged participants to meet others by talking, and just getting involved.

At the beginning of the day, most students felt nervous, and felt that this would be “something different.” “Rock, Paper, Scissors” was students’ favorite activity because it got them “hyped” as they battled with other students, while the rest cheered them on until the two participants were left. The crowd was intense and the winner got tons of cheers.

A real eye opener of an activity was “Cross the Line.” Students were placed on one side of the gym, and once a Link Crew member said, “Please cross the line if,” students would cross if the statement related to themselves. One statement that got a response was “Cross the line if you are proud of something you have accomplished.” The activity became quite emotional for those involved.

Activities like these “Bring students together,” said senior Brooke Carlson. “[The activities] are also to open up doors for people to become friends. Also for relating to each other instead of being apart from each other.”

Participating student who chose not to go on record, commented afterwards that they learned “don’t judge a book by its cover,” by taking “into account people’s feelings and realizing I’m not the only one.” Some reported they ”felt closer to people.” Others ”Had a lot of fun” and developed “empathy for people.”

In addition to hosting Synergy at CHS, Link Crew holds Synergy events at different schools, like Colton Middle School, so they can also give them an experience of what Synergy does and is like.

Overall Synergy was a great experience and a real eye opener for a lot of students by learning to get to know new people at school and building up their leadership skills.