LA’s 2024-25 International Students

The dorms became a new home to new and returning students who are now an important part of Lincoln Academy’s community for the preceding year. The majority of the dorm students are attending junior year, but there are also international students in sophomore, senior and freshman grade. Almost all of the ResLife students come from different countries and cultures and they can remember their arrival which was followed with a mix of excitement and doubts.

The main reason why they decided to study at Lincoln Academy, in most cases many miles from their home, was to experience studying abroad, different school systems and learn  more about living in the USA.

Most of the students plan to stay here for the whole year, with a few seniors who will be graduating from Lincoln Academy. There are also some that will be with us just for two trimesters or only until Winter break, which means that their stay is slowly coming to an end. Afterwards they plan to re-enter their grade in their home country. We can expect a few new international students in winter and spring.

Studying abroad can be a life changing experience for some of the international students and their families. It is hard for both parties, the parents and the child to travel to different countries for that long time period. Luckily students have found their safe place in the schools and the ResLife community. The school staff and the dorm parents are doing their best every day to make it the easiest for the students to live in the dorm. Dorm parents are one of the most important components of the ResLife program. They substituted the parent figures, which includes supervising the students and caring about their well being and needs.

The typical day of a dorm student is not very different from the days of other students. With the end of fall trimester slowly approaching they have become familiar with the LA school system. Some students also take part in various extracurricular activities such as sports, or music. This fall trimester we had six dorm kids who took part in Cross country, three of them making it to the varsity rooster. There were also many great soccer players, who contributed to this year’s soccer teams. There are also multiple international students who joined our LA school newspaper The Talon. The students also often enjoy their afternoon with their friends in downtown Damariscotta-Newcastle.

The dorm parents always prepare various activities for the weekends which have been a great opportunity to explore nearby areas and Maine’s culture. So far there have been many shopping trips organized by the dorms. People in the community had the opportunity to meet some of our international students during the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest in the Kid´s zone, where they volunteered.

Three months ago, almost no one from the international students knew what to expect from their time at Lincoln Academy. One of the hardest parts of studying abroad was getting used to the new environment. For most of the dorm students it is the longest they have ever been without their families. Although the kids have many awesome memories, there have also been some moments when they felt homesick, but the daily life in the dorms is filled with smiles, laughter and happiness. In the very first days students needed to orient themselves in the school and get used to hearing and speaking English all the time, which can be really exhausting. Now that it is November, the kids speak English on a daily basis without any greater problems. Some of the students noticed an improvement in their English.

It’s been more than three months since the dorm student´s arrival. This time period brought lots of changes and new things to the students’ lives. They settled in the dorms and became an important part of the school community. In these months they built strong relationships between each other and have already shared many memorable experiences. We are really excited to have the dorm students stay at Lincoln Academy and get to know more about their journey.