In previous years, Linganore High School has had a buddy program in place, which included activities such as field trips and after school activities. It provided students with learning opportunities and a chance to make a significant impact on the lives of others. The primary focus of this program is to empower youth through mentoring experiences.

As of 2016, the buddy system has been inactive. A unified gym class was created which is a good opporunity.  However, few students can incorporate unified gym into their schedules. Several students are interested in fully restarting the program and are seeking the help of staff members.

Class of 2019 member Mary Britton, one of the students interested in reinstating the program, said, “I think that we need to bring back this program because it can have a large impact on people. It spreads positivity and promotes kindness in the community.”

Learning for Life Teacher Mrs. Mary Cate Henry, said, “In the past, we would do plenty of activities together and meet once a month. I believe that restarting the program is a great idea, and in previous years it was a huge success.”

The creation and maintenance of this program is a large undertaking, and it requires cooperation from students, parents, and staff members in order for it to accomplish its goals.  The process of matching students, running meetings, scheduling field trips and organizing the calendar is all undertaken without compensation.  In the past, Mr. Jeremy Brown and Mrs. Mary Cate Henry shared this responsibility with the support of interested parents.

The parent who worked to get the program started in 2008 still has great memories of the impact it had on participants’ lives and the difference it made in the community.

The original buddy program had about 60 students participating in the first year. It had “big buddies” and “little buddies,” and the pairs would spend as much time together throughout the school day as possible. After school, students were encouraged to got to football games and school-sponsored fundraisers together. 

One Linganore graduate, Ryan Dixon, was a very involved member of the buddy program. His participation in the program had a large impact on his life.

“I feel like I impacted many lives during this program, and my buddy and I are still life-long friends. It gave me the opportunity to talk to people I normally wouldn’t have throughout the school day. Being a member of the program helped spread awareness for those with special needs. When other kids saw us together, they would make an effort to meet him and to eventually befriend him, allowing my buddy to open up and feel more appreciated,” said Dixon.

After high school, Dixon continued his work through volunteer work with the Special Olympics and participation in various fundraisers. He majored in sports marketing but soon realized that it wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. Dixon returned to college, this time choosing to major in Special Education. After receiving his second degree, he became a full-time special education teacher in Montgomery County.

In order to join the Buddy program, students were recommended by staff members as good candidates for the program and were given a questionnaire to fill out in order to be matched with another student. From there, students  were interviewed by staff members.

In order to reinstate the program, help from students who would be willing to participate is needed. Being a member of the program is a large commitment, but the lessons learned and the experiences gained are immeasurable.

“I think the creation would be great because participants gain connections with many different students. The program would allow students to gain more social experience, and create real, life long friendships,” said Class of 2018 member Bridget Murphy. Murphy was an SSL in the Learning for Life program and really enjoyed mentoring her peers.

In order to move forward, interested students need to find a faculty sponsor and present their ideas to the administration.