The new Natural Helpers are Nicole Badolato, Jarret Bodo, Courtney Bryggman, Michelle Daciuk, Molly Daugherty, Mark Egger, Taryn Elliott, Teasia Flythe, Sharise Graham, Anna Koullias, Kristina Maimis, Angel Mateo, Allison Mintz, Jose H. Murillo, Anna Pepe, Sharika Powell, Brittney Quinones, Jake Racaniello, Aseef Raihan, Fuschia Ray, Pierrline Renois, Zachary Rotter, Brittany Sherland, Natasha Vaughn, Hannah Wagner, Nicole Weydener, and Kimi Yamada. Student trainers in attendance were: Sabino Curcio (president), Evan Brieff (vice president), Allison Mintz (secretary), Edmund Gezelter (treasurer), and Jeffrey Haber (public relations).
This spring, Walt Whitman High School celebrated its third year of being part of Natural Helpers. Natural Helpers is a peer-helping program used in high schools across the United States and in several other countries. The program is based on a simple premise: Within every school, an informal "helping network" exists. Students naturally seek out other students for advice, assistance, or a sympathetic ear. Natural Helpers uses this existing helping network; it provides students and adults who are already perceived as "natural helpers” with extensive training. The third annual Walt Whitman Natural Helpers overnight retreat took place from April 5-6 and was a huge success.
School psychologist Kristen Tizzano and math teacher Donna Talleur serve as co-advisors. They ran an activity-filled retreat for 32 Whitman students. Five students acted as student trainers, and there were 27 new students this year. The teacher-chaperones included Jaime Rogers and Elizabeth Kenney. Mairead Kelly from the Huntington Tri-Community Youth Agency also assisted. The Natural Helpers were selected by their peers through a schoolwide nomination process. Students were asked to name peers whom they find to be caring and trustworthy.
The retreat, which took place at Camp Alvernia in Centerport, included many enjoyable team-building activities as well as presentations on such topics as stereotyping, healthy relationships, and active listening skills. They also heard from speakers from Response Hotline and Phoenix House. The result was a meaningful experience for all involved. The students left with a stronger sense of self-awareness and respect for others, better listening skills, and a few new friends! To quote one of our Natural Helpers, “This program has truly opened my mind about a lot of things –– things that will surely make a difference.”