With the first month of school nearly complete, new students at U-High are finding the transition into U-High to be smoother than expected, and many are happy with the ease they have felt in joining the community.
Like the others, new-to-Lab ninth grader Zuri Cosey Gay has been pleasantly surprised by the open and welcoming community U-High has presented.
“It’s been great, everyone has been real nice and kind to me,” Zuri said.
This year, U-High welcomed 31 new students: 21 ninth graders, four sophomores, four juniors and two seniors.
Zuri said he had been “warned” by friends at his previous school that U-High’s homework would be awful.
Daniel Chang, another new-to-Lab ninth grader, shared a similar experience to Zuri.
“I was expecting a lot of smart kids, and more homework,” Daniel said. He said his expectations of an overload of homework were actually playing out to be the opposite thus far into the year, and he’s been having a smooth transition to U-High.
While many new ninth graders join U-High every year, a less-common occurrence is a new junior or senior. New senior Angelica Moussambote feels that while the homework at U-High may be tough in comparison to her previous school, the free periods and overall independence in U-High give her a lot of room to balance the workload.
Similarly, Marina Richard, a new junior, said U-High is a big change, but even with the work she is still able to manage.
“All the teachers and the people have been so accommodating that it’s just been a lot easier,” Marina said.
She also said her friends at her previous school have already been swamped with homework and studying, but at U-High she has been eased into the workload. Marina moved to U-High from a school she had attended since she was 4 years old, so she expected her transition to be more difficult.
“I think that everyone here is ready to know somebody new,” Marina said.
She also observed that although many people have been at Lab since the beginning they are still very welcoming and not at all exclusive.
“People are more open,” Angelica said. “I haven’t felt like I’ve been alone.”