UA transfer Layla Whitney, left, enjoyed the Homecoming dance.
University Academy Upper School welcomed 24 new transfer students this year! Since UA is a K-12 school, a lot of current students have been attending UA for a while, so it can be exciting to have fresh faces added into the mix.
UA is a smaller school, so it’s easy for students to be friendly and welcoming to new faces since a lot of the students who already attend are familiar with each other already.
One of UA’s sophomore transfer students, Layla Whitney, transferred to UA because she was looking for a school that would treat her better. She’s also excited to play basketball with the Lady Gryphons. She was a little anxious at first due to not knowing her way around, but once she got familiar with things, she felt better.
She said, “The students and teachers were very welcoming.”
Whitney believes UA is a more academically challenging high school than her previous school, but she likes the idea of being challenged and is pushing herself to keep her grades up. She said she would encourage other students who want to feel more academically challenged to attend, as well.
Whitney also believes the community at UA is better than the one from her last school.
Another one of UA’s new sophomore students is Le Ataata O Tau Lelei I’atala, who joined the cross country runners and is also interested in joining the girls’ basketball team. She heard from others that UA was a great school when looking for a new school to attend.
Since there are limited openings in the Upper School at UA, it is hard to get in, but I’atala found the application process itself to be very easy. Once I’atala got into UA, she realized how challenging the school actually is, but she said UA will help her be prepared to go off to college.
UA is a school of academic excellence and college prep, and the transfer students seem to be aware of how UA can prepare them to succeed after high school.
“Although I need to get adjusted to the learning style here,” I’atala said, “I feel as if it’ll help me in the long run.”
Even though UA is mainly focused on academics, I’atala plans on continuing her athletic involvement, too.
“I do like the basketball team because I feel like that benefits me,” I’atala said, “especially because I feel as if we’ll make it to state.”
UA might be a challenging school, but in the end, the goal is to make sure that when the students leave, they are prepared for college. Wh