Student Feature: Supported in Community, Growing in Independence
Evie, Grade 10
We’re continuing to celebrate International Week at the Upper School by sharing stories of international students within our own PCA family! Today, we are spotlighting Evie, from Hunan, China. Coming to PCA as a Freshman, she’s currently in her Sophomore year and eager to share how her time here has impacted her thus far. Continue reading to learn more about her experience at PCA.
“I would say, from a little girl, I’ve grown into a young woman.“
So tell me a little bit about how you started at PCA?
I started at PCA the end of last year, and it was great to be with my friends and all of PCA’s teachers for the whole year. And I really appreciate everything the teachers have done for me, and I’m thankful for my friends who supported me. And [PCA] is a really loving family, if I’m honest. I met my best friends here, and I have met lovely teachers.
That’s great that at PCA you’ve felt like a part of a family! How have relationships or friendships with peers or teachers here impacted you?
I think one of my favorite teachers is Mrs. Blatchley, and she’s the sweetest teacher to me! I actually had a tough time at first when I wasn’t really used to being here. And even though I had some of my friends, they weren’t really [connecting] with my heart. Mrs. Blatchley told me how to solve these things, and she told me what I should do in my relationships and how to relax my emotions; how to do all these things that count.
So how do you feel like you’ve grown, then at PCA?
I would say, from a little girl, I’ve grown into a young woman. I learned not only just study or subjects from PCA, I also learned how to control my mood, how to make great friends, and how to talk with different kinds of people as well. It was really hard to leave home at only fifteen, to come here. Like I was a little baby when I was in China, you know? All the people were around me and did everything for me. And now I have to learn to take care of myself, I have to cook for myself, and I’m learning to do things on my own. And my host parents help me a lot. But I think I’m really lucky to learn how to be independent like this.
Is there anything you would want to share with people interested in PCA?
At PCA, teachers are willing to know students deeply, and they really want to, you know? They want to know how we are doing, and really talk to us, to really do the best things for us, which is really helpful. I came here because I wanted to go to one of the universities in Boston, but I thought, ‘Boston is a little too noisy and busy because of all the people’. So instead, I found that PCA was not too far and was a suitable school.
Thanks for sharing! It’s so good to hear that PCA has been taking care of you.
Yeah, it’s like my second mom!
请告诉我您一开始来PCA的情形？
我从去年年底来PCA，很高兴能与我的朋友和PCA的所有老师一起度过一年。我真的很感谢老师们为我所做的一切，也很感谢我支持我的朋友们。 PCA是一个充满爱的大家庭。如果我说实话，我在这里遇到了我最好的朋友，也遇到了可爱的老师们。
太棒了，在PCA，您就像一个家庭的一部分！与这里的同伴或老师的关系或友谊如何影响您？
我认为我最喜欢的老师之一是布拉奇利女士，她是对我最温柔体贴的老师！刚开始我在这里还不太习惯时，我实际上度过了一段挺艰难的时期。即使当时我有一些朋友，但他们还没有与我建立真正亲密的关系。 Blatchley老师告诉我如何解决这些问题，她告诉我在人际关系中应该做什么以及如何放松情绪。她教我如何做所有这些重要的事情。
那么，您在PCA成长后的感觉如何？
我会说，我从一个小女孩成长为一个年轻女子。我不仅学习了PCA的学习或课程，还学习了如何控制自己的情绪，结识新朋友以及与各种人交谈。真的很难只有十五岁就离开家。就像我在中国时还像个小婴孩一样，你知道吗？所有的人都在我身边，并为我做了一切。现在，我必须学会照顾自己，必须自己做饭，我也正在学习自己处理事情。我的寄宿父母对我有很大的帮助。我觉得我很幸运能学会这样独立。
您想与对PCA感兴趣的人分享什么吗？
在 PCA，老师们愿意深入的去了解我们，他们是真心想知道我们过的怎么样，并真正与我们交谈，尽可能地为我们的好处着想，这真的很有帮助。我之所以来到这里，是因为我想去波士顿的一所大学，但我想， “波士顿因为人太多而有点太吵杂和繁忙了。” 而我发现PCA不太远，是一所合适的学校。
感谢分享！听到PCA一直在照顾您，真是太好了。
是的，就像我的第二个妈妈！
“…I wanted to go to one of the universities in Boston, but I thought, ‘Boston is a little too noisy and busy because of all the people’. So instead, I found that PCA was not too far and was a suitable school.“
Interview originally recorded in English, translated to Evie’s native language in Mandarin Chinese.