The school recently welcomed a new student from Afghanistan, freshman Frangis Afzali, whose unique story and experiences inform her new opportunity to learn.
Current governance in Afghanistan has prevented many girls in 7th grade and older from attending school–Afzali being one of such students. This change, created by the Taliban, the ruling organization in Afghanistan has resulted in a decrease in educational opportunities for girls. Consequently, Afzali’s transition into American schools has been somewhat challenging.
“I’m so far behind in studies,” Afzali said. “It’s kind of hard for me. I feel confused, but I’m getting used to it slowly. I’m just impatient with myself.”
Afzali’s toughest academic challenge has been studying subjects like math because of the different educational framework in Afghanistan. Math courses such as Algebra and Geometry were studied all together in Afghanistan, and classes themselves were shorter.
“In Afghanistan, we had six subjects and each subject took 30-45 minutes, so it’s completely different,” Afzali said. “I came from a country that’s not [advanced] enough for studies, so it’s hard adjusting to an American school.”
Furthermore, Afzali has been overcoming social challenges at school since she transferred. Initially, Afzali found that students at the school were less talkative. However, Afzali found support when the students at the school helped her with schoolwork.
“I’m a very social person to be honest,” Afzali said. “But right now, I don’t know what happened to me. I’m just anti-social. I’m not who I am right now.”
In spite of the challenges and struggles, Afzali is impressed by the performance of the teachers–notably history teacher Kyle Nathanson and science teacher Thomas Evosirch–and the administrative policy of the school, stating that “the policy is the best.”
“I love some of my teachers, especially [my] history and geography teacher and science teacher,” Afzali said. “They are patient with me because I’m new, and I need support.”
Afzali acknowledged that it will take her a long time to get used to the school. Nevertheless, she feels blessed to have the opportunity to learn when many other girls in Afghanistan don’t.
“It’s a lot of pressure on my mind, but I try to take a break every second,” Afzali said. “New immigrant students should give themselves time. Patience is the key to everything. Just know that you’re good enough.”
