By Students Chloe Carter and Jorja Gravett
Jo-Isha Theman, a 16-year-old foreign exchange student from Suriname, started attending Melcher-Dallas High School in August. While staying in America, Theman has learned and experienced the day-to-day life of your average student.
At first Theman was nervous about coming to America, but she was also looking forward to new experiences and friendships. “I get why I was thinking that, but at the same time, I don't know why I was, because I knew I would be able to do it and that I could get through it,” Theman said.
Theman has since gotten out of her shell by being involved in football cheer, basketball cheer, basketball, and dance. Dance team captain Makenna Lewin said Jo-Isha has transformed and helped out the dance team. “I feel like everybody looks for her, especially for hip-hop and I feel like whenever she is there, she just kind of brings the vibe. She just knew what she was doing and she made me feel more confident in myself,” Lewin said.
Theman experienced many of her firsts while being a part of our school and community. On August 23, she attended her first American football game away at Murray. She was confused at first but she still had fun and enjoyed watching and cheering for our football team. Theman said “It was super fun screaming, clapping when everyone was clapping even though I didn’t know what was going on.”
Theman is from Suriname which has a very warm and tropical climate. Since Theman's home country doesn’t experience the typical winter season she has never seen snow. She had a lot of fun playing in the snow for her first time and experiencing classic activities like building snowmen and having a snowball fight.
Theman has made new friends and has experienced many things while temporarily staying in Melcher-Dallas. Theman concluded, “I’m super grateful that I got placed here in Melcher”.