Alumni Share Wisdom with Current OIHS Seniors

In December, six OIHS alumni--from Burma/Thailand, Iraq, Eritrea, Yemen, and Mongolia--came back to talk to eighty five OIHS 12th graders about life after OIHS. While seniors are excited about what life after high school has in store, the notion of leaving OIHS--sometimes the only school they've attended in the United States, and the place where they learned to speak English--carries some serious anxiety.

From choosing a major to how to communicate with teachers to the importance of checking your email to the value of personal responsibility, OIHS alumni shared their personal experiences and lessons from college life. "It was helpful to help me plan the future, starting now," said Yasser, a 12th Grader from Yemen. "Like when Eyad and Mohamed told me about their experiences choosing a major, that made me start really thinking about what I want to study in college, and what classes I want to take next year." Alumni admitted that being an English Language Learner is difficult in college, and sometimes it feels like you have to work twice as hard. "I always begin my class presentations by saying that English isn't my first language, and that I'm going to be trying my best," Mohamed, '15, shared. "It's intimidating, but I just do my very best."