On top of all the new changes at Washington High School this year, there is a new program offered to select students. This program is called the Peer Mediation program.

     “Peer mediation is guiding students to a solution,” senior Kaylee Heining said. “Students who are having a conflict come to one of the peer mediators in our school to resolve the conflict.”

     This program can be nerve racking to others at first. Since before the year even started, guidance counselors have been working hard to make an outreach and connections among the student body.

     “I thought it was another good opportunity for me to get involved and this is a good outreach program for kids and students to come to me and the other peer mediators to talk about their conflicts,” Heining said.

     Not only will this peer mediation program benefit the student body by making connections, the mediators left with skills that would last them a lifetime.

     “I wanted to do [the peer mediation program] because I [thought] it would help me a lot in college and for the rest of my senior year,” senior Jacob Neely said. “It will give me good experience dealing with people.”

     Although the peer mediation program has benefited the people who have participated, it wasn’t a simple sign up.

     “We had to go through a six hour long training,” Neely said. “We went through scenarios, definitions, practice and pretty much talked as a group.”

     Aside from the new and adaptive skills that the group of mediators were learning, they got the chance to make memories along the way.

     “The coolest part was getting to meet all the different people who went there, even if it was only eight, it was still really cool,” Neely said.

     After all the training was completed, all of the mediators couldn’t wait to get started resolving conflict.

     “I am excited to work with the other peer mediators to help resolve conflicts around our school,” Heining said. “I feel that this is a really good program that will benefit the school and I hope the school will continue to do this down the road.”