Granby Memorial High School Senior
Age: 18
Tell about yourself…
I live in Hartford and travel to Granby each day as an Open Choice student. I am a full time student at the high school. As for my background story, I was born in Nigeria and moved with my family to Gambia when I was 2 years old. I lived in Gambia until age 12 when I moved to Hartford to live with my father, a U.S. citizen. He came to this country for more opportunities and a better life. This was the statement I heard many times as a child. I entered middle school in Hartford and had to learn English as quickly as possible. Middle school was difficult for me and I was tormented. Kids made fun of my accent, clothes, language disabilities, and anything else that made me appear different.
Fortunately, I was eventually able to come to Granby since I wanted to concentrate on my studies. I am especially interested in psychology, specifically child psychology. I want to understand the reasons for the behavior of troubled kids. How does their family treat them? I lean towards classes in the medical fields. Next year I will attend Southern Connecticut State University.
At every high school there are students that make fun of others. I began to realize that I should work on improving my self-confidence. These days I am feeling happier and glad to be in Granby because the school work is challenging here so I learn more.
My passion is to learn how to help other immigrants access the system in order to acquire citizenship and the things they need. I want to learn more about immigration laws. I didn’t grow up with a mom and dad who could help me with this so it was my responsibility to get this done for myself. It was really tough.
In my sophomore and junior years I played field hockey, soccer and track but my knees bothered me. I am not that crazy about playing sports now, but enjoy watching them. When I lived in Gambia, I used to gather together with family members to watch wrestling matches. I miss those days.
My favorite class here is sociology where we are learning about the behaviors of human society. It is interesting, easy to understand and the teacher is very nice.
I also like K-Pop music and watching Korean dramas. One of the best is Descendants of the Sun. Someday, I would like to visit South Korea.
What excites you about the future?
Violence will always be a part of our world but my hope is that it will decrease. I believe that the future will get better as people learn how to support each other more and more.
Tell about an event or time spent in Granby just having fun…
One day a year or two ago I was playing in a field hockey game after school. My bus was very late coming to pick me up so I stayed to watch the football game. Not knowing anything about the game it was hard for me to get excited about the score or strategies. I did, however, really enjoy watching all the happy people in the stands eating and cheering, etc.