Julia Yassa is a Senior student at GHS. She came from Egypt together with her family in 2019. There is so much to say about this remarkable young lady, from her determination to master English, her third language after Arabic and French.
Julia, describes how at the beginning she felt "lost, annoyed and stressed", not only struggling with not knowing the language but also missing her friends, family and her teenage world, which she had left behind. As the oldest sibling, she felt the responsibility to demonstrate determination in getting a new life. She knew her whole family was "starting from scratch".
She worked as hard as she could using the English tools provided to her at Gulf high school and complementing with you tube tutorials and other online lesson while immersing herself in "everything English" from movies to music. She was determinate to make friends, start going out of her house and stop feeling "lonely and annoyed".
Her rapid language acquisition process is something out of the ordinary, that highlights not only how bright she is, but also what a high level of determination and discipline can achieve.
Julia came to the country from an academically strict school, her class subject seem simple to her once she had enough English to understand the information. She was pleasantly surprise with the fact she could choose some of her courses here!
Her hard work has taken her to the IB program (International Baccalaureate), she recognizes the support of her former guidance counselor as well as GHS IB administrator, who encouraged her to join the program and remained in it even after her family moved and she was zoned at another school. She also highlights the support provided by her ESOL IA who supported her in her classes when she did not know much English and who helped her connect with an Arab speaker teacher at GHS. Julia also mentions her French teacher as a constant source of support and encouragement.
These remarkable team has not only made Julia feel supported during these challenging years, but they also make her and her family feel welcome and a valuable part of the community.
She describes the atmosphere at the school "as a family", "everyone has help me and encourage me so much", she has made friends and is the president of the French honor society and the French club. "They make me feel welcome".
When she was feeling scare she received support and encouragement, "the teachers here make you feel as they are your friends and not only teachers", "their doors are open".
Julia has plans for Medical school to become a Pediatrician, she will also like to continue her studies in French and maybe teach French culture and studies at the college level. She loves learning languages and will like to learn a fourth, she is already working on it.
Her social life has also change for the better: she has plenty of friends and is able to chat along with others in English, she even has some "best friends".
Julia is just one of our wonderful resilient students, she will continue to move forward because like she says "I have a lot of dreams" and I "fight hard for my dreams".
Her story is something not short of amazing!
Stay tune to learn more about the great things our ESOL community is doing.
