NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING FRESHMAN TO 4.0 SENIOR
“
Ms. Kang was there for me in my freshman year when I could not yet speak English. I spent time with her during my free periods and she coached me through my worst days. She was always there to listen to me. We still keep in touch.
”
After arriving at the Winch speaking very limited English, Miyuki discovered a community ready to embrace her; teachers and classmates that would push her to succeed. While it’s never easy to go to school in a new country, Miyuki discovered that challenging yourself at the Winch is the norm.
- Learning to live in a dorm with a boarding school schedule, making new friends that don’t speak the same language, and eventually, becoming student body president, are just a few of the challenges that Miyuki faced as a new student at Winchendon.
- The most surprising thing Miyuki learned at the Winch was that she could choose what she wanted to learn. In Japan, her home country, there is a rigid study curriculum that everyone must follow. However, at The Winchendon school, she had much more choice in which courses to take, and she really took advantage of the ColLAB’s, travelling internationally and then leading a trip of her peer students to Japan.
- Along the way, Miyuki took up ice hockey and lacrosse and became a leader in the Service Learning Program and of the student body. She had come a long way from worrying about whether there would be anyone to sit with in the dining room.
- Miyuki currently attends Waseda University in Tokyo where she is studying international relations.
