By: Kelsey Blum –

Lincoln Southeast prides itself on providing safe-learning environments for all students and extends this protective promise beyond the regular school day and into after school with a program called Knight House.
Knight House provides a safe place for students who aren’t able to get home right away, who want to hang out with friends, or who need to retake a test. All you have to do  to attend Knight House, is to show up on time, and follow school policies .
Tatumn Bennett is a sophomore at Southeast and attends Knight House almost everyday. She has gone for two years now, and values the relationships she has built there.
“[Knight House] is a good place to go to bond with people that you don’t know, of all grades. Everyone would be interested in this and would benefit from this,” said Bennett.
Librarians and college students volunteer to help out with Knight House everyday.
“Hopefully I never stop being interested in Knight House because the environment is great,” said Bennett. “Knight House is a supportive environment for school work, and learning how to make friends. You can do a lot of things (open mic, sit and hang), and you can be yourself. Knight House makes a difference for someone because it provides a happy place. For the most part, everyone gets along, and no one is left out. This will matter in the future because it teaches us how to be nice to each other even when we’re different,” Bennett said.
Knight House can have a great impact on your future. You can learn a lot there. For example, you can learn how to go out of your comfort zone, and really let others see the true you. Knight House is free everyday after school.
Matthew Robertson is from a local group called Lighthouse, which inspired  LSE’s Knight House. Lighthouse helps out with after school programs everyday. They try to keep kids feel welcome, and keep them safe when they can’t get a ride home right away after school.
“Knight House has gotten a lot more organized, better incentives, and more staff since I started helping out. We take Lighthouses values here and at lighthouse we feel like a big family. Kids feel like they’re apart of something, a family or an organization that accepts them,” Robertson said.
LightHouse is an after school program for all ages. Their goal is to “Increase the likelihood of high school graduation of middle and high school-aged youth by adding high quality programming.” They also provide academic support, evening meals, and activities when school is not in session. If you don’t want to attend your after school program, you are welcome to attend Lighthouses facility. Their address is 2601 N street Lincoln, Ne.
In order to attend their facility, you have to be enrolled in school, you can’t be under the influence, and you have to be respectful of everyone and everything.
Robertson has been able to watch young people grow and gain confidence by attending the program. He especially enjoys watching students at Open Mic Night.
“A lot of kids get to step out of their box and comfort zone, and it’s cool getting them to put themselves out there. I really like working with high school kids, and I like to run my own program outside of lighthouse. At lighthouse I am someone who follows other people’s’ rules and here I get to be a leader. The most significant thing about Knight House is kids feeling like they belong.” Robertson said
David Crable is a junior at Southeast, and he has been attending Knight House for 3 years. He goes everyday, and he is even incharge of Open Mic every Tuesday.
“Knight is super cool, a cool place to hang out after school, get homework done, spend time with friends, and there are really cool games and books. I participate in Knight House because I don’t get my ride after school and they end up showing up here at 6:00 pm so I just come up here for a place to hang out, and it’s always pretty cool, Crable said. “All students can really benefit from Knight House because I think that it’s a cool place for us to hang out. All sort of students are involved. I’ve seen football players in here when they wait for practice to start, basketball players while they wait, and a lot of swimmers. There are also a lot of gamers, students who like to read, sing, and like music.”
Knight House takes place everyday after school from 3-5:00 pm  in the media center. All students are welcome, and can scan in through the Knight House door in the GP lab. If Knight House is closed, the staff will announce it to students.  This will also be put on the school website and will be emailed to parents.