Three months have  passed since Cotter opened its doors on August 15 for the first day of school. This year, the Cotter community welcomed 45 new students,  members of the Chronicle have spoken with some of them on how they are adjusting to the school.

Sofia Montoya from Medellin, Colombia is a 17 year old junior. She came to Cotter on August 13 from Colombia. She considers herself to be the happiest girl in the world. She chose to come to Cotter as she believed the boarding program here for the international students would give her a better approach to learning the English language. “The best part since I have come here has been meeting new people” Sofia said , “ But “…the hardest thing has been being a new student and adapting to all of the changes.” She says that classes here are hard,  but they always have a fun part so she is learning a lot.  She is doing well so far and she is meeting lots of amazing people. If you want to hang out with her what she mostly does in her free time is dancing, going to soccer games, shopping, and watching series on Netflix.  If you were to visit her hometown, Medellin, she would like to take you to Ciudad del Rio. “Is a really fun place”  Sofia said.  The goals for her this year are having lots of fun and learning from each experience during this journey. “My advice for people that are going to study abroad is to have their mind open to everything that can possibly happen to them”

Coy Pederson is a 16 year old boy who recently was incorporated into the Cotter family. Coy lives in Lenzburg, Wisconsin, almost 40 minutes away from Winona. The lengthy drives from home and school does not stop him from studying at Cotter.   Coy Peterson is the youngest in his family, with one brother who is currently  in college. Coy has been living in Lenzburg his whole life. “Lenzburg is relatively small, only about 750 people live there. Lenzburg is known for being an artistic community. Everyone knows each other, and everyone is related to everyone in some way,” Coy said. If you ever want to go to Coy’s town, he will gladly take you to the theater which houses a local company of actors. Coy’ s main reason of changing school was for a better educational opportunity. “Cotter is bigger compared to my old school. Cotter has different buildings, almost like a college campus. Cotter has more opportunities and things to be part of, and the classes are bigger,” Coy said.   Coy has many expectations for the rest of the school  year. “ I want to be part of history day, model legislation, and possible try out for the tennis team. I really hope everything goes smoothly” Coy said. Coy talked about his experience so far at Cotter, “everyone is so welcoming, the people are really nice, I am really glad to be part of the Cotter family.”Coy’s advice for the new Cotter students is to “try to get to know as many people as you can.”

His name is spelled Z-a-n-d-e-r , and he recently assimilated into the Cotter community from his previous school, St. Martins, also in Winona. He’s a freshman this year, and has chosen to move schools to Cotter as he believed this school would be more challenging than St. Martins, and also offered free sports. He likes that the people here are amazingly helpful and kind. Being a freshman this year, he hopes that he people here will be kind and welcoming. He plans on participating in football, baseball, and weightroom activities. Being a huge football fan, he usually spends time at home playing football with his neighbors. He hopes to be a good student during his first year here, his advice for other new students simply being: “ Work hard!”

Yufei Li is a Sophomore who recently started at Cotter. Faye is from Wuhan, the capital city of China’s Hubei province . She has previously studied abroad in Canada, and is thus experienced with the lifestyle that comes along with studying in another country. During her free time, she enjoys listening to the  piano music, and  music of all langauges and watches Chinese movies. She has participated in tennis, as thinks it is a “cool” and “powerful” sport. She plans on participating in track later this year. Her favorite part about Cotter is that she got to meet a lot of nice people, but she is a little disappointed that Winona “feels like living in the country side, so therefore it takes 20 minutes to walk to anywhere from the dorm.”  ” I hope at Cotter I can have a good year, good time, and meet good people, and get into a good college,” Faye said.

Sierra Pawlak is a senior from Fountain City, Wisc.  Sierra is in her second year at Cotter.  She has an older sister who goes to UW-Madison. She chose to make the change to Cotter from CFC because her old school didn’t offer as many AP classes on campus. So far, she likes that Cotter  focuses on education rather than on sports, as my old school did the opposite. The hardest adjustment is driving 20-25 minutes every morning and afternoon to get here and back. During her spare time, she enjoys eating, sleeping, watching Netflix, and track and field.”I spend my free time with my boyfriend. We get ice cream at Nate and Alley’s a lot.”  Speaking of Fountain City she had this to say  “ There is a racetrack right next to my house , which I absolutely hate. But I love the bluffs.”  Her goal for this school year is to get accepted to UW-Madison.

Kevin Lee has noticed some differences between American schools and Korean schools in his first months here.  “Generally, American schools keep giving you grades based on homework and everyday work. The tests, of course they are graded too. But in Korean high schools, they don’t have any homework, so you are free to study or be lazy. But the tests are really hard. There is no homework. Instead, all of the grades are from the tests. So the tests have to be really hard in order to give grades. There are two tests in one semester: the midterm and final. But it’s really hard.”  He is adjusting well but there are, of course, some difficulties.  “I have to say speaking English because it is my second language, and everything is in my second language. ”   He has some advice for students considering studying in America or at Cotter. “If you like to study with freedom, you should come here. You get to learn how to save your own time and spend your time wisely. I think I learned that when I came here. But if you’re not comfortable with that, you should just stay home.”   “I have also learned to speak more in school, to speak with confidence, because in Korea, teachers are so strong, and you can’t talk. So we don’t get to have to chance to share opinions, discuss with others. Here, it’s really free and you can just discuss and it’s kind of like freedom of speech I guess. It’s not like that strict in Korea, but it’s stricter than America.”   His advice for new students: “Generally people are nice, so just speak to them and they will react well. They are really kind. So just don’t be afraid to speak to others.”

Po (Oswin) Chan is another 17 year old junior from Hong Kong. He chose to come to Cotter after hearing about it from his parents as he believed it would be a good place to study. Currently, he isn’t participating in any activities, but is getting to know the Winonan Community bit by bit hanging out with the other dorm students. During his time in Cotter, Oswin wishes to get good grades and create lasting friendships.

Jiyong (Jay) Choi is a new sophomore from South Korea. He  has one older brother named CJ, a former student here at Cotter.  He previously attended a boarding school in Fort Collins, Colorado. He chose to make the move as Cotter is bigger than his previous school and offers a wider variety of opportunities. So far, he is liking Winona as he feels that it is quite comfortable, and he is getting along with his dorm mates. He’s also enjoying that Cotter has a wider variety of activities compared to his old school. Cotter differs from his old school in that Cotter requires students to wear school uniforms. The infrastructure and the number of students is also larger than his previous school. During his free time, he  usually hangs out with friends.He enjoyed playing soccer for  Cotter in the fall, and is planning on joining tennis and swimming as well. As for his goals for this year, he wishes to improve his English, which he has studied for three years. His advice: “I think the most important thing is hang out with local friends. It’s hard to speak how I want to speak. I think it’s good to learn a new language. It’s good to meet new people.”  While he likes the dorms he wishes the school allowed sleepovers.   “I think Cotter is good.  My friends and teachers are nice.”

Vivienne Warner is a new student in her junior year this year. She is a native Winonan, having lived here all her life, and previously attended Winona Senior High. She chose to make the move as her mom wanted her to because she thinks it will be a better academic experience for Vivienne.  Although she likes that Cotter is a serious school, she says all the teachers are  ooking out for  for your best interest, She disaproves of the  difficult grading scale, and classes are also pretty difficult.  She is working to make friends in the new environment, which isn’t always easy. ” I am a combination between a loner and a social person.  I am involved in my church and I’m the vice president of Youth in Government. I try and keep good grades, I play violin and I hang out with my dad on weekends. I also work at HyVee and go to the gym. I want to have a career in design. I work well with management and aesthetic design.”  Vivienne’s advice for new students “Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone.”  Her goals for this school year are to get good grades, save a lot of money from her job and make friends. “Shoutout to my mom, for always being there for me. She is my biggest fan and she is always there to get me to where I need to be. She helps me reach my goals. And also to my friends at my old school, for sticking by my side and being there for me and pushing me in a good direction.”

Austin Hicks is a new junior at Cotter.  “I was born in South Bend and then moved to Brownsburg, Indiana. I moved here because of  my dad’s job. I have one older brother and one younger brother. I decided to go to Cotter because I liked the private school feel and I felt like it would be best for me.I participated in Cotter’s football program and I am currently looking at other activities to participate in after football. The hardest adjustment for me would have to be leaving my friends and having to make new ones. My old school was larger and more diverse than Cotter is. I like to play football and other sports in my free time.”   Austin’s advice for new students: “I would tell the new student to try many activities and that the students are very kind.”  His goals for this year: “I will strive to acquire the best grades I can and exercise more to stay healthy.”

These new students unanimously agree that Cotter is generally a welcoming place for new students to adjust to and that they believe that the decision to come to Cotter has been a smart one.

Additional reporting by Fatima Mota, Sam Graff, Nathan Graff, Kylie Modjeski, Mari Crowley, Nicole Duellman, Yolanda Rubio, Cade Hansen, Jack Vaselaar, and Austin Kerrigan.