Stamato spearheads Trinity’s Senior Buddies
Isabella Stamato. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
When Isabella Stamato was a junior at Trinity Collegiate School in Darlington, she saw a need for building a community amongst the students at her school. Trinity Collegiate had recently added a sixth grade, bringing the school from around the Pee Dee area. Most of the time, the seniors and the sixth graders had very little interaction. Their classes and lockers were even in entirely different buildings, so she came up with the idea for a Senior Buddy program to change all of that.
The Senior Buddy Program pairs an outgoing senior with an incoming sixth-grader in order to facilitate their transition into a new school. The sixth-grade students are able to ask their buddies questions about the school, about where things are, or even for help with homework. The seniors help them feel welcome in the school and are role models for the child.
Every sixth grader came onto Trinity campus with a built-in friend. So far this year, sixth graders and their senior buddies have had a get-to-know-you party, a Halloween costume party, and a holiday get-together where they exchanged gifts. Each one of them has spent the school year with at least one more friend than they would have had before entering the program.
In addition to spearheading the Senior Buddies program, Isabella is a member of the National Honor Society, Girls Service Club, National Spanish Honor Society, Varsity Volleyball, the MENSA Honor Society, Connections Club, and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Youth Leadership Foundation and has received a total of over $600,000 in scholarships and grants from the colleges and universities she has applied to for the fall.