The young women at Padua Academy have a variety of amusing talents, fascinating gifts, and inspiring stories. Padua 360 took the time to hear a few of their individual stories and share them with you.

Six summers ago, while I was at summer camp, I met Natalia. She told me that she was from Poland and that she and her brother were spending their summer in Delaware with their grandmother. She was still learning how to speak English then.

On the first day of highschool, I realized that the girl standing next to me was Natalia. Confused, I asked her what she was doing at Padua. She told me that she now lived with her younger brother and grandmother in Delaware, and she would be attending Padua. Last Tuesday, I sat down with Natalia to hear her story.

Natalia spent most of her childhood living in Poland with her younger sister, brother, and parents, until the summer before 9th grade. Her brother suggested that he would like to stay in America for school and their parents agreed. They also wanted Natalia to attend school in America. She said, “At first I hated the idea, but then when I came to Padua and met all my friends, I wanted to stay because I love them.” Natalia also said that the schools in Poland are much different than American schools. She said, “the people here all want to achieve something. The students in Poland have an unrealistic idea of reaching their goals. They don’t want to work.”

Even though she loves Padua and all her friends, Natalia still admits to missing Poland and all her best friends. For the past two years, Natalia has been visiting her family and friends in Poland every summer and Christmas, but this past February, Natalia’s parents and younger sister moved to Florida. When I asked Natalia if she planned on going back to live in Poland, she said that she was considering attending college there. She is also looking at attending school in Italy, England, and America.

Natalia also said that when she first got here, when her friends were talking, picking up all our American catch phrases were difficult. She said, “When people would say things like, ‘it’s not my cup of tea’ I would get very confused. I didn’t know what that meant because there was nobody drinking any tea.” For Natalia the most exciting part of living in America has been all the people she has met. Her friends have been the most helpful people, and were her reason for wanting to stay in America.