Stinger Support is a new interdivisional mentoring and peer tutoring program at Seven Hills that is making a meaningful impact on the school community. Created last year by junior Noor Arif and graduate Lauren VordemEsche, the program was designed to strengthen connections between grade levels while giving students the opportunity to support teachers and younger learners. This year, Stinger Support continues to grow. Senior Faith Mclennan and I now run Stinger Support with Assistant Head of School Laura Leonard as our point person, as more students get involved in mentoring, tutoring, and supporting the classroom.
The goal of Stinger Support is simple, but it makes a difference: students helping students. Participants work in a variety of roles across the school, from reading one-on-one with younger students to assisting in PE classes and project-based learning activities. Many mentors help reinforce academic skills such as math and language arts, while others focus on building confidence and positive relationships. In addition to benefiting the school community, participation in Stinger Support also counts toward community service hours, incentivizing students to join and encouraging students to give back in a meaningful way.
For many students involved, the most rewarding part of Stinger Support is seeing growth in the younger students with whom they work. Junior Allison Koth, a first-year participant who has been involved for about six months, shared that she enjoys helping students build confidence, not just academic skills. Koth works primarily with a fourth-grade class, where she assists students with math and workshop activities. She has noticed positive changes over time, explaining that students become more independent and confident in their work after receiving consistent support. “They seem a lot more comfortable working on their own,” she noted, highlighting the long-term impact of peer mentoring.
Another participant, freshman Zahabia Shahpurwala, joined Stinger Support because of her love for working with younger students and connecting across grade levels. She tutors third graders in reading and language arts, often working one-on-one with students who need extra help. Shahpurwala explained that while the experience is rewarding, it can also be challenging. “Sometimes kids don’t want to listen or get distracted,” she said. “You have to figure out how to pull them back in.” Despite these challenges, she emphasized that helping students overcome difficulties makes the experience worthwhile.
Stinger Support continues to grow as a student-led program built on empathy, leadership, and service. Through mentoring, tutoring, and classroom assistance, the program not only supports younger students and teachers but also helps mentors develop responsibility and communication skills. As Stinger Support moves forward under new leadership, it remains a strong example of how students at Seven Hills can create positive change within their own school community.
A correction was made on Feb. 12, 2026: An earlier version of this story misspelled VordemEsche and misidentified Laura Leondard’s current title.
