![MORE THAN A GAME. With two diving catches in the outfield, the Lions showed up defensively, aiding in their victory over the Pacers. One catch was made by Atwood, and the other by McGraw. Throughout the game, the Lions knew that it wasn’t just about their victory today. “I think [playing for cancer] makes it bigger than just a game,” McGraw said. “Knowing that you have a bigger impact in this world than just who you are as one person.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/I70A1454-1-1200x800.jpg)
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On Aug. 25, the day before school officially began, the building was filled with school photo takers, parking pass grabbers, and rising freshmen for the 9th-grade orientation.
Guided through the day by a team of Lion Ambassadors, the freshmen arrived to meet their Life class peers, tour the school, and find their classes. Lion Ambassadors are students who volunteered their time to the program, having undergone training prior to the orientation. Elise Row, senior, is a Lion Ambassador, and this is her first year in the program.
“I was at freshman orientation when I was a freshman, and I just really wanted to do [be an Ambassador] because it made me feel so much better going into high school, and I wanted to share the knowledge I knew I would have [wanted],” Row said.
As the day began, Ambassadors and staff helped lead the new students into the Aux Gym, where they were paired up with a team of Ambassadors and the students who would be in their Life class for the school year. Clara Fassett, freshman, had experience with the school through her older sibling, but still wasn’t fully expecting the transition.
“I kind of didn’t quite realize that school was starting until close to it, and I was like ‘wow, I’m actually starting high school,’” Fassett said. “But I had been a couple of times with Ruby [Fassett], my older sister, before, and she had kind of shown me around a little bit, and so I felt a little more confident in starting.”
After a presentation by the Associated Student Body, the Ambassadors led their students on a tour around the school, going from location to location, such as the Black Box, New Commons, and, eventually, the students’ Life class.
“It was nice to meet everyone in Life class and just kind of get another tour of the school and get questions answered, and it just helped me feel more confident,” Fassett said.
In the Life classrooms, Ambassadors chose games that they would play with the freshmen, often icebreakers that helped the class get to know one another or games that answered the new students’ queries.
“I really liked answering the questions that my freshmen had in this smaller group,” Row said. “We had them all write a question on a piece of paper and then ball it up and throw it at us, and then we just kind of picked up random anonymous questions, and it really reminded me of all of the questions that I had and things that I completely forgot would be so confusing going into the school again.”
While the freshmen will be spending the rest of their high school career with their Life class, their Ambassadors will also be a fixture in their Life class, checking in on students as the year progresses. This is a new change to the program as of the 2025-2026 school year, but one that Row believes to be beneficial.
“I remember the Ambassadors that I had when I was a freshman, and it would have been nice if [I’d] had a little check-in, whether I would have used it or not,” Row said. “I think it’s just good to kind of establish those connections with upperclassmen.”
