The New Faces of M-A: Transfer Students Share Their Stories

Transfer students arrive at a new school where friendships and routines are already set. Starting over can feel overwhelming, but it also opens doors to new opportunities, and a chance to begin again—here’s a closer look at M-A’s transfer students’ stories.

Junior Louis Koide attended a high school in New York before transferring to M-A this year. Prior to M-A, Koide attended a much smaller school with eight periods instead of the six he takes now. For Koide, the largest difference between the two schools is the campus. “The campus is way bigger and during passing periods you go outside rather than just stay in the hall inside,” he said.

One thing Koide likes about M-A is it requires fewer classes than his old school. “I like how you’ll have six classes so you can focus more on each class,” he said.

Sophomore Max Vardharajan transferred from Bellarmine College Preparatory in the middle of first semester this year. Vardharajan lives in Menlo Park and he primarily transferred to M-A for its convenience. “[Bellarmine] was too far, and most of the friends I had lived in San Jose,” Vardharajan said. “At M-A, I also have a lot more friends because I know more people, and I just live closer.” 

For Vardharajan, the main difference between his old school and M-A is the coursework. “M-A is, I would say, less rigorous in its coursework. Bellarmine was a college prep school, so it was more difficult,” he said. “[Bellarmine provided] lots of study opportunities and help from teachers when you need it.” 

Senior Akshara Kambam transferred to M-A this school year after she moved here from Virginia with her family last summer.

One of the main differences Kambam has experienced at M-A compared to her old school is the curriculum. “There’s less AP’s here that were available in my old school,” she said. On the other hand, Kambam notes that students get more support from teachers at M-A compared to her previous school.

Her biggest challenge has been adjusting to the difficult classes at M-A. “An example would be AP Lang—at my old school it was generally considered to be an easier class but here it’s pretty difficult like a lot of the English classes are, so probably the curriculum was the hardest thing,” she said. 

Kambam appreciates the variety of activities and clubs at M-A including the Canned Food Drive. “The club fair was really nice, but that was at the beginning of the year. [I enjoyed] just going to different club meetings, meeting new people through classes and stuff,” she said. Kambam also appreciates the welcoming friendliness of other students. “People are really nice and welcoming. I felt super comfortable asking people different things that I wouldn’t have already known otherwise. People were really nice when I first came here,” she said.

Sophomore Elliot Carlsson transferred from Mid-Peninsula High School before the beginning of this school year. Carlsson decided to transfer to M-A for more opportunities. “I transferred because my school before was really small and didn’t have as many opportunities with sports and for classes and friends,” he said. 

Carlsson has overall enjoyed his experience at M-A. “I like everything. I like all the people, the size, the teachers,” he said. One thing Carlsson misses about his old school was the smaller community. “You are kind of more able to understand your entire group since it’s a smaller class,” he said. 

Despite this, Carlsson has appreciated his time at M-A so far, and has especially enjoyed experiences at school events like football games and dances. 

Pietro Vecchierelli is a senior foreign exchange student from Italy. Vecchierelli decided to come to the United States to experience a new environment. “I’m an exchange student, so I’m here for something different to what I’m used to,” he said. 

“It’s almost totally different. The classes we have [in Italy], we stay with the same group of people all day. We don’t change classes,” Vecchierelli said. “[Another difference is] probably also how you are related with the teacher here, it’s more like as a person. I see them, not as a teacher, but also more like a person I can really build a relationship with and see them as my friends.” 

One thing Vecchierelli likes about M-A is the diversity. “Really the fact that there’s so many people, [and] they’re all different between them,” Vecchierelli said.

Shayne Porter and Lily Chesler are both current seniors who transferred from different high schools in their junior years. 

Porter transferred to M-A from Kehillah High School to meet new people and experience a larger social setting. “I was not fond of the people there, and I didn’t feel like I really connected with anyone. And it was like 40 people in a grade, so I wanted to have more social opportunities, and I felt like M-A was a great option for me,” Porter said. “[I] definitely experienced some social anxiety when coming to the school, because it’s very overwhelming with all the people, but I’ve gotten used to it,” she added. 

Chesler transferred from Saint Francis High School to M-A in the middle of her junior year. Chesler appreciates the community at M-A. “I like how everyone kind of talks to each other, and how it [is] a lot more community based, and friendly, and I feel like it’s less cliquey than Saint Francis,” Chesler said. 

In comparison to M-A, Porter misses the cleanliness of Kehillah. “[Kehillah is] a little bit cleaner I’d say. The bathrooms were a bit better,” she said. 

For Chesler, it’s the food that she misses. “The food at Saint Francis, that’s the only thing I miss,” she said. 

One challenge Chesler faced as a transfer student was joining the girls water polo team midway through the year. “I got on varsity. Everyone’s been playing with each other for a while, so it was kind of hard to assimilate,” Chesler said. Even with the initial struggle, Chesler has enjoyed her experience playing on the team. “Sports are really good here, but Saint Francis, it was pretty intense to the point that I didn’t even like doing water polo anymore, but, the team here I really liked and they’re all super nice,” Chesler said. Porter’s favorite experiences so far have been participating on the M-A Dance Team.