As Lake Forest High School Students prepare themselves to pack up their things and leave home, there is an abundance of students that have made an even larger commitment—to leave the country. With the rising cost of college in The United States, and the abundance of culture and opportunities abroad, many students are excited to commit to the distance and travel.
Adrian Safarov
For senior Adrian Safarov, after multiple trips to Japan including self-reflection, decided to throw himself “off the deep end,” and explore himself as a person while studying abroad. Safarov will be at Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan.
“I really wanted to branch out from Lake Forest and see what the world had to offer and explore life outside of a typical Chicago suburb,” said Safarov. “I really want to grow more as a person rather than just staying stagnant in a place that I am comfortable in”.
Safarov has always been allured by the culture, lifestyle, and opportunities in Japan. After four trips with his friends and family throughout high school, he decided to pull the trigger and study abroad.
“The specific moment when I realized that I want to study abroad, specifically in Japan, was when I was with my friends in Japan for the third time and they explained to me that college life in Japan is much easier—-getting a degree is cheaper and it offered lots of unique upsides that I resonated with,” said Safarov.
Participating in the high school’s business incubator program, as COO of Pure Patch, a 2-in-1 bandaid that is the fix to sport related infections; Safrov sparked his passion for chemistry. He plans on specializing in chemistry and incorporating business down the line.
One of Safarov’s biggest goals for his college career is to discover what he can contribute to a community that he is an outsider coming into.
“Because Japan is dominated by their own culture I am interested in seeing how I will be able to fit into the rest of society,” said Safarov. “I am eager to go back because every time I go back it just gets better and better.”
Clara Mateus
Influenced by her family’s roots in Portugal, London, and Europe as a whole, senior Clara Mateus is attending CEU San Pablo in Madrid, Spain, to pursue her dream of going to medical school.
Attending university abroad was not Matues’ original plan. At the end of April, she was committed to University of Miami, but after being accepted to CEU San Pablo, the pros to going abroad began to outweigh staying in the United States.
“My thought process while deciding to change was–not only was school in Spain significantly cheaper, but also offered a route where I was able to do four years of college and then go straight to medical school,” said Mautus. “I’d much rather finish school in five years than have to do a pre med track, take the MCAT, medical school, then my residency. The process is much shorter in Europe”.
Between the commute, culture, and new lifestyle, Matues is eager to be closer to her family in Europe.
“I was born in Portugal and all of my family lives in Europe. My family that currently lives in Lake Forest is moving to London, so choosing to go to school in Spain is much easier for me,” said Matues. I am able to live on and off between London and Madrid, while getting an internship much earlier than in the United States.”
Matueus is most excited to have a fresh start—learning Spanish through immersing herself into the culture.
“I am looking forward to learning Spanish completely and getting much better at it. I wanna have a completely fresh start and live a lifestyle that is completely different from one i’ve ever lived before, I am gonna have a lot of freedom, so it’s definitely something to get used to,” said Mateus.
CEU San Pablo offers a program that teaches the first two years in English which draws people from all over.
“The atmosphere and culture there is much different than a traditional American school. Instead of just becoming close to the people in your school, you are able to meet and become close to people from all over the city,” said Matues.
Catie Sedushak
For senior Catie Sedushak, going to college abroad was an easy decision. Since freshman year, she had the idea that she was going to leave the country in order to push herself out of her comfort zone. She debated whether to go to school in Canada or Europe.
When Sedushak realized that she was eligible for Canadian Citizenship during her junior year, Canada became the obvious choice.
“If you’re a Canadian citizen, going to college is way less expensive than it is in the United States—significantly less expensive,” said Sedushak.
University of Ottawa offered an impressive program for her political science major and a strong career path through resources and internships.
“I will be in Canada’s capital city which opens the door for lots of hands-on experiences and internships,” said Sedushak.
Additionally, she is excited about participating in a Co-op program that offers her in-college internships that will help her become extremely involved in her major, and simultaneously explore the world.
Overall, Sedushak will have the perfect combination of beautiful scenery, hands-on internships, and the flexibility to travel the world.
Emma Florentinus
For senior Emma Florentinus, studying abroad is as simple as saying “I’m going home.”
“Although I spend a lot of time in the U.S., I am excited to go back, because the University of Amsterdam is close to my hometown,” said Florentinus. “I am excited to be close to my family, childhood friends, and my brother, who lives in a city near Amsterdam.”
Going to school in Amsterdam offers Florentinus a sense of familiarity and comfort that she is eager to return to.
“I am excited to get back into my culture, since I have lived in The United States since 6th grade. I feel very out of touch now that I have fully adapted to the U.S. culture,” said Florentinus.
The University of Amsterdam is not just a sense of home to Florentinus, yet the perfect amount of hustle and bustle, and peace. The layout of the city makes transportation convenient.
“I am happy that the University is right outside of Amsterdam. I don’t think I could live directly in the vicinity of the city because it is very touristy,” said Florentinus. “It’ll be nice to be a little outside of the city, but still close enough to take public transportation into the city, especially since nobody really drives cars there—also pretty shocking considering I drive all of the time here.”
Emma isn’t the only member of her family making the move this coming year. Her family is moving to Switzerland, which makes the adjustment of moving to Amsterdam for college even more exciting. She is glad to have her entire family by her side in Europe.
Whether they are headed to Tokyo, Amsterdam, Madrid, or Ottawa—these LFHS students can inspire others to push outside of their comfort zone, and explore new places around the world, and new versions of themselves.
