Lake Forest High School has welcomed many new students in the past couple of years, especially those from other countries. 

It’s no secret that it’s difficult to be the new kid, but adding a language barrier and a bit of culture shock creates a whole new level of difficulty. 

Although the options of sports teams, clubs, and art programs may look overwhelming, joining them is one effective way to meet new people. 

Nadia Breedt just moved here from South Africa after living there her entire life, but had no trouble in joining the Cross Country team. 

“Join as much as you can.  Join clubs, sports, anything because showing up (even when) not saying anything is still something,” she said. 

Junior Maisie Henshaw moved here a year before freshman year from Melbourne, Australia. 

She then found herself on the LFHS Varsity Field Hockey team a year later. 

“It may be overwhelming at first, but find something that interests you and join. It helps you find friends and new opportunities. The academics can be difficult, but there’s a lot of ways to find help,” Henshaw said. 

Lake Forest offers many resources to help students succeed physically, academically, and mentally. 

Sophomore Manon Vermer moved to Lake Forest just before her freshman year. 

After living in Belgium for her whole life, she has found that academics and school gives her more freedom. 

“The education [in Belgium] was more ‘old school’. We didn’t have Chromebooks so for example French class would be listening to the teacher and copying everything that they write on the board into a notebook and then remembering vocabulary words or grammar for the next day,” Vermer said. 

Breedt has found that Lake Forest is “a lot more extreme in activities” compared to South Africa.

“The academics here are a lot more complex and difficult and there’s a lot more options for your school path,” Breedt said. “The sports here are really intense, and they put you in boxes that if you choose one sport it’s part of your personality, whereas in South Africa its more a little bit of everything for everyone.” 

But she also found that there are many places to go for help at LFHS. “There is a large amount of resources like the trainer, counselor, and social workers,” Breedt said. “They really want to take care of you here.” 

There are multiple kinds of resources available for students to improve on what they might be struggling with. 

“The teachers actually care if you do well in their class and they are more there to help you if you need to,” Vermer says. 

Junior Oscar Kokke has been around the world. He enjoys that Lake Forest has a big sense of community. 

“Everyone’s always moving away in Singapore, whereas here I can make true friends and know they’re not just gonna move away in a year or two,” Kokke said. “Academics can be a challenge at first, but you get used to it.” 

Throughout the students, all are fans of Lake Forest’s dedication to sports teams. The comradery between students and athletics helps our community feel close as well as welcoming. 

“Be open minded. Try different experiences and meet new people. Try as much as you can to speak English to improve your English skills. Join sports to really have the American experience,” Vermer said.