Imagine traveling thousands of miles away to attend a school where you know no one. This was the reality for exchange students Lily Gils and Aleksandra “Ola” Glazewska.  

Although in seemingly identical situations, Gils from Norway and Glazewska from Poland have had different experiences at Central.

When explaining her reason for wanting to be an exchange student in the United States Gils said, “It’s iconic. I see it in every movie and stories, and it’s just cool for someone in Europe to experience America.”  

Previously, she was in a class of 15 students and described the switch as a good difference. “You can get to know a lot more people here,” she said.  

Glazewska described school in Poland as tiring and wanted to do something special rather than just following the system. She decided to be an exchange student in the United States to improve her English and because of the reputation of people here being open-minded and nice. Glazewska also enjoys the less strict environment at Central.   

“Teachers care more about students, I think, and they want to get to know you and not just look about your grades only. They are more understanding,” Glazewska said.  

One thing that helped Gils connect with others was sharing a common interest in golf with the girls on her team.   

“It was very difficult. Because everyone, especially being a senior and stuff, everyone has their own groups. They have for four years, and maybe they’ve known them before that too. So, it was a bit hard getting to know someone, but it became easy as time went by,” Gils said. 

Similarly, Glazewska felt assured on the first day of school already having made friends from cross country. Participating in a sport affected her experience a lot by being in a supportive environment despite competing against one another.  

“People here are very friendly, and they want to talk to you,” Glazewska said.