Kyra is finding her fourth year with her host family filled with “experiencing new things with them. I’ve loved going to hockey games, out to dinner, and to New York City, as well as just hanging out with the DePetris family.” She reports “time management” as her biggest challenge this year, what with filling out college applications and focusing on “hard” classes but says “this year has been going very well, really fun.”
Sophomore Lakeesha feels “very integrated” into the GABC house with the support system provided and the other scholars. She had a lot of fun acting out the death scene in Macbeth in her English class, and in her art class has created a fiber arts scarf and a pillow. Lakeesha said she had fun visiting other ABC houses in Connecticut and spending time with her host family. “We went bowling and painted pottery — fun experiences!”
Katie, also a sophomore, is in an honors Spanish class and feeling “really good” about her achievement in the language. She continues in the choir and participates in four clubs: Women & STEM, the Interact (volunteering) Club, Feminist Alliance, and the Mental Health Alliance. Katie also volunteers at St. Raphael Hospital, bringing the book cart to patients and chatting with them. “I find this really meaningful. I like hearing their thoughts, and the patients are very encouraging, very motivational,” Katie said.
Jazzy reports that her junior year classes “are going really well — I like the fact that they are challenging. My favorites are International Baccalaureate Psychology and Advanced Placement Physics.” She enjoys “hanging out and relaxing” with her host family and is working on costumes for the GHS musical. She helps with costume fittings and tailoring as she has sewing skills that began when her mother gave her a sewing machine. GHS has a costume collection, and Jazzy works with other students to decide which costume goes with each character.
Irene’s junior year includes the important experience as a volunteer at a Yale hospital, working closely with the nursing staff. “This is so helpful for my future career as a nurse,” she said. “I’m definitely learning from the nurses — seeing first-hand what they do for the patients.” Irene especially enjoys her I.B. course work because “it is interactive — we work in groups and learn from each other.” Irene spoke warmly about her host family. “I love going to their house — it’s a home away from home. They always give me pep talks and it’s just fun, doing whatever in the moment with their two girls.”
Senior Tamojah went on a 10-day trip to Italy with her I.B. Italian class, a trip that turned into 13 days due to the February blizzard. It was an intensive immersion Italian language experience that included staying with Italian host families and consistently speaking Italian. The students earned a certificate of achievement for meeting international standards for the course.
Guilford ABC 