Being a new student is always hard, but being a new student with a parent in the military can be excruciating, especially if one or both parents are deployed.

Manhattan High has created a club to help combat the stigma that comes along with being a new student at MHS and being a military child: Student Ambassadors.

Student Ambassadors was created earlier this school year and is comprised of military students who have been here long enough to know their way around. Those students meet up every now and then to discuss their goals and what they’d do when a new military student enrolls at MHS.

“[My goal is] to really make a difference for incoming kids at MHS,” junior Alyse Maender said. “I would have loved to know about what’s around Manhattan and to have people who are in the same situation as me help me get to know Kansas. Hopefully we can get to the point where we can match up military kids with students based on interest and can really be efficient. We really want to make this club a part of MHS as we can.”

Maender moved to Manhattan two years ago.

Manhattan High is known for having something for everyone to participate in, which is one of the things junior Kayleigh Ballesteros intends to point out to new students first.

“The first thing I noticed was that there was cheerleading,” Ballesteros said. “I had always done cheerleading when I was younger on Fort Riley for teams and it was so much fun. I was so excited to try out for a real team where we were able to stunt more and cheer for a school team.”

Ballesteros moved to Manhattan in second grade.

Instead of having officers like most clubs at MHS, Student Ambassadors has three committees: Information and Publications Committee, Welcome Committee and Engagement Committee. Each committee has a different duty, varying from updating social media accounts to connecting with new students before they even arrive to let them know they’re welcome.

“I recently moved here due to the military so when all the military kids in the school got invited to the first meeting. I decided to be a part of it because I was in the same situation,” junior Lani Clark, who moved to Manhattan at the beginning of this school year, said. “I had Alyse [Maender] show me around when I first got here and if it wasn’t for her I’d be completely lost so I’d like to do the same for someone else. It’s hard making friends when you’re a military brat and this club helps with that.”