Fatima Noor, sophomore, is a foreign exchange student from Pakistan at KHS on the Kennedy Lugar YES Scholarship along with 107 other students in high schools across America.
This is the 10th year students from Pakistan have come to the U.S. on this scholarship. Noor is living with a host family during her stay at Kirkwood, or- ganized by the American Field Service (AFS) which recruits students and finds host families for the scholars. Noor currently runs JV girls’ cross country, something completely new to her.
“I didn’t even know what cross country was, but when I arrived here my host mom recommended it to me,” Noor said.
Noor said she likes to try new things, so joining a new sport that she had never heard of was inviting, but challenging as well.
“I am very new in this field of sports, so this was very frightening to me,” Noor said.
Besides being in a new country, Noor faced the challenges of joining a completely new team.
“I was afraid to talk to [my teammates] before I met them, but at the very first day my coach in- troduced me to the whole team, and that was quite helpful,” Noor said.
With the help of her coaches, Noor has been able to branch out and meet new people on the cross country team.
“She was quiet, but eager to make friends,” Pam Harris, head girls’ cross country coach, said. “Fati- ma is a hard-worker and is very dedicated to get better and better each day.”
Noor has made new friends and impressed the coaches with her hard work and perseverance.
“[My teammates] are my favorite now,” Noor said. “They are so friendly and cooperative, as well as the coaches. I love my team and coaches be- cause they are like a family to me.”
JV cross country has helped her with some of the struggles of joining a new school, such as making new friends and learning new customs.
“When I was coming here I was really afraid about the nature of people, but as I arrived here and started cross country, my mind was complete- ly clear after talking to the cross country girls,” Noor said.
She has made a bond with the team and found a sport she truly enjoys. Noor’s favorite part about being at Kirkwood is the friendliness of both the students and teachers.
“She’s quite a trooper,” Harris said. “She does everything she’s asked and does it with a smile on her face.
