By Deveon Thao
This year, Minarets has four foreign exchange students: Nicolaj Holtum from Denmark, Pedro Henrique Esteve Pinheiro from Brazil, David Lopez-Martinez from Spain, and Christine Canal from Spain. Many students wanted to know how a foreign exchange student would feel about attending a new school surrounded by new people. I thought that it must be something very exciting for someone traveling to a different place and making new friends in a new environment.
When talking to Nicolaj, he explained “I like this school. This school is very different from every school I have ever been to. People here are very friendly and the environment here is very professional. All the tech here makes everything a lot easier to learn in all my classes." He also enjoys the company of the students at Minarets because they are so friendly he said that he would change nothing about Minarets.
Pedro explained how "I enjoy how they use the computers in the classes. Minarets is a more technical high school. I like the students and they are friendly." He also discussed how he likes the school and would also like to see a wider variety of classes offered. He was also happy about being able to play on the Minarets Soccer team.
Without hesitation, David explained how "I like the people and the teachers at Minarets as well as the sports offered”. He also feels very welcomed at Minarets and he would like to see more challenging courses offered. While he has been enjoying Minarets and has a great group of friends, he does miss his home high school and "feels more comfortable with my old friends since I can express myself more."
Christin described how she really enjoys Minarets and how she’s made many new friends. While she didn't have anything that she dislikes about the school, she agreed with David that she would like to see more challenging courses. Like many of the other exchange students, she participated in soccer this winter. She also explained that she took part in the foreign exchange program: “To improve my english, and wanted to try something different and wanted this experience to be great making new friends and learn the culture here.”
After talking with the three foreign exchange students, I am definitely proud to be a Mustang. So many of their statements were relatable, including how the computers make school work easier and helps us stay organized. As a student new to Minarets this year, I definitely agree that Minarets students encourage new students to have the best time and work hard to get fellow students to go to school events.
No one is really comfortable at first when arriving at a new school or being in a new environment, especially if they are from a foreign country. It is clear that all students are able to have great experiences at Minarets. Students treat their peers with respect and the advanced technology makes for a truly unique learning environment.
Way to go Mustangs!
*This article was updated on March 8th to include Christine Canals interview. We apologize for the oversight*