Khadija Sohail, 8th, is working on her movie poster project. - Nancy Nguyen
Khadija Sohail remembers her first day at a new school in America.
“I went through troubles about being in a new school and making new friends, said Shail, 8th, whose family moved here from Karachi, Pakistan, three years ago.
Sohail and seven other Timberwolves face the difficult adjustments all immigrants must make when they enter a new culture.
“I thought I would not blend in with anyone but I did,” said Sohail. “It was hard for me to make friends because I did not know many English.”
Sofia Licon is another student who was a new immigrant and new to Westbrook.
“I had troubles facing the new school and I did not know anyone that could help me get through,” said Licon, who came to the U.S. from Mexico two years ago. The eighth grader was scared and nervous but most of all, she felt that she did not fit in with the others. “I could not speak a lot of English back then,” said Licon.
Licon's first days in America were some of the hardest challenges she's faced, she said.
“I got in trouble on the second day of school because of this girl I used to know,” said Licon. She could not believe that she was already getting in trouble, but she faced the consequences and moved past the issues. Fortunately, on that day she also met the girl who would become her best friend, Susana Espinoza 8th.