This year, Kent School welcomed twin sisters from Germany to the community. Although boarding school, especially at a school in the United States, is new to them, Luisa and Lilli Welcke ‘21 are doing a great job both academically and athletically at their new home away from home.

Adjusting to boarding school as a domestic student is hard enough, but being an international student is an entirely different challenge. When asked how they are adjusting to Kent and the U.S. the twins said, “It was hard at first. School is harder and we didn’t know anyone when we first arrived here. Speaking English is also tough for us. Even though we didn’t know anyone, the hockey team befriended us quickly and created a very comfortable environment.”

Both Lilli and Luisa are very impressive Hockey players who compete internationally against junior national teams. Although at home they play some of the best athletes in the nation and world, they state that “the team’s skills and morale are better at Kent. We win more games here in the U.S. compared to at home.”

Even though they are very competitive athletes, both Luisa and Lilli enjoy the academics and take advantage of many of the opportunities at Kent. Lilli says her favorite class is English with Mrs. Trottier,” while Luisa voted for “math with Mr. Harris.”

Many believe that communicating with your parents while at school is difficult, especially for international students, but Luisa and Lilli said they are doing just fine. They explain, “we call our friends when it is 4 am there. Sometimes they pick up, sometimes they don’t. We mainly text our parents to stay in touch.”

Luisa and Lilli have had a very successful year so far at Kent School. Keep it up!