By: Tobin Chen
Published 11/10/25
PEN is doing a series of Peer Leader Spotlights every month, and we are honored to have WAVE as our first group. WAVE is mentored by Mrs. Abrams, who we will be interviewing. WAVE is a group that promotes respect and inclusion within our community, giving everyone a place in our school.
Q: What would you say WAVE as a group is and what are its goals?
A: WAVE is welcoming, accepting, and valuing everyone. I can actually read to you our mission statement. Which I think kind of encompasses all those things. But pretty much we're making sure that students feel welcome here, and that everyone feels like they have a place. We want to make sure that everyone here feels like they have a place and belong in Millburn. So that's really the big thing with our group. Statement is, as Millburn Middle School's WAVE peer leaders, we strive to welcome everyone's diversity, appreciate their differences, and embrace our community. So that's our official mission statement. Hope that answers your question.
Q: What have you done this year and what do you hope to do over the next few months?
So one of the big things that WAVE is responsible for is No Place for Hate, which is getting the entire school involved in educating them about, you know, again, accepting everyone, going beyond kindness, making sure, again, that you know, we are teaching about, you know, what being hateful means and then making sure people understand that so that they don't contribute to the problem. So one of the things that we took on this month in particular, the first big week of October was Week of Respect. So we've had a big part in helping run those programs and, you know, coincides really nicely with the mission that we have as a peer leader group, which again is welcoming, accepting, and valuing everyone and respect really lines up perfectly with that. So that's what we have done so far.
Q: Following up on Week of Respect, what would you say the week meant for the school and which core values do you think were the most important during that week?
A: So obviously respect. I think the other one that was really big is caring. And I would say citizenship. Those are, I feel like, the three big ones. And I think for the school, it's something that we need to keep, you know, I'm not going to say everything was absolutely perfect. I think that we need to keep improving as a school because I think everyone can really always improve and be working better on being more respectful. There's no reason that we can't. I think overall, a lot of people showed their spirit and got involved in a bunch of the programming, which was really great to see. But we always can do better and be more respectful, so why not? So next year will be even bigger and better.'
Q: Which core value do you think your group emphasizes the most?
A: Respect. Yeah, I would think so.
Q: What do you think this school can improve on the most?
A: Our school could work on something like something that someone says that might not be nice or maybe doing something that maybe isn't appropriate for school but holding each other to a higher standard because we're a really great bunch of people who are here and then sometimes I think we forget that you know, that our actions have consequences and that our impact of when we do things matter. And we're learning and growing, but it still doesn't mean that it makes everything 100% okay. So I think the one thing that everybody here needs to kind of work on is that, again, being accountable, not making excuses for your actions. We just move on and learn and grow, and that's it. Just become better.