You see students pass by in the hallway every day but do you ever stop and try to learn more about them? Because McNeil is already diverse, it can be hard to spot those students who travel from halfway across the world. Junior Anne Ronnebeck has come all the way from an island in Germany as a foreign exchange student to study at McNeil.

“I came to America for a change, an experience I can live and go back to tell,” Ronnebeck said.

“I want to feel the team spirit, to go to football games, and make a lot of friends.”

Being a new student can be difficult, especially if you’re from halfway across the globe. It would be even more scary if the school you attend has twice the number of people than your entire island.

“My home in Germany is very different from Austin,” Ronnebeck said. “My island only had about 1,000 people, and my school only had about 150 students; that is kindergarten to 10th.”

This is Ronnebeck’s first time in America, and so far she likes it. She wasn’t afraid to travel alone  to America; in fact her sister had already been to Iowa and she already knew her host family.

Ronnebeck was nervous about coming to school. She wasn’t sure of what people would think of her or how well she would adjust.

“McNeil is different,” Ronnebeck said. “Many people are very nice, but a few can be rude. I like the fact that there is a lot of classes you can take and I’m just pleased with the size of the school. In Germany there wasn’t much to do. It was a very small island with only a few people.”

But there is more to Ronnebeck than just being from Germany; she used to compete in ring riding, commonly known as horseback riding. She received third place and owns a horse herself. “Julia, that’s her name. I miss her a lot,” Ronnebeck said. “She is also ill, so I constantly worry about her.”

Ronnebeck also likes to play sports, mainly volleyball. Life in Germany is much different than in America.

“You need to take a ferry from the island and wait for 30 minutes until you reach the mainland,” Ronnebeck said.

By coming here as a foreign exchange student, Ronnebeck only gets to stay for 10 months – a short time to make new memories, capture new moments, and make new friends.

“As soon as I finish 11th grade I will have to go back to Germany,” Ronneberg said. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing that I want to take full advantage of.”

The most overwhelming part of being new is to adapt to the change. She has to change some of her thinking because “everything is the opposite.”

There are many foreign exchange students with plenty of stories to hear and adventures to take. Go up to them, talk, make friends and give both them and yourself a memory to hold on to. Mavericks have welcomed Ronnebeck and other of the foreign exchange students to McNeil. Come with stories, take some memories, and leave with an experience of a lifetime.