A mentorship program named Study Buddies has been organized by seniors, Alex Marshall and Conrad Cuevas, to help freshmen students get on the right academic track to graduate. The program is targeting freshmen who are failing and are not receiving the help they need to succeed in the classroom.

“I noticed that if students were failing, they would be sent to tutoring; which doesn’t really help them,” said Conrad Cuevas, co-founder of Study Buddies. “Guilford is a great place for kids that are really motivated, but if not, Guilford isn’t really effective.”

The group is projected to start at the end of October with a pizza party kickoff. Once it is started, it will pair successful seniors with freshmen students who are not on track to graduate. The struggling students will be able to learn and grow with a one-on-one experience.

“We will be meeting once a week after school,” said Cuevas. “On an individual basis, the mentors can meet with the freshmen if they need help with something.”

If any seniors would like to be a mentor for Study Buddies, they need to fill out an application to make sure they are qualified for the task. As for the freshmen, the counselors will be meeting with teachers and deciding who would be a good fit for the program.

“I originally had an idea of a tutoring program that I wanted to start,” said Alex Marshall, co-founder of Study Buddies. “I talked to Conrad and he mentioned starting a mentoring program. I thought it was a great idea, so we just teamed up and created Study Buddies.”

According to dosomething.org, over 25% of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time. This unique opportunity will surely look to reduce those numbers and also make a positive impact on the school.

“Many freshman students didn’t have any, or much, homework in middle school so they struggle organizing and completing work on time,” said Mr. Elston, teacher. “With so many classes, time management becomes a major skill that some struggle with. Again, balance and time management is key.”