When Ula Lipinska and Julian Harms stepped onto Redwood’s campus for the first time, they were met with a whirlwind of new experiences: crowded hallways, unfamiliar faces, and the challenge of navigating school in a different language. As exchange students living with a host family in Corte Madera, they are embracing the adventure, eager to immerse themselves in Redwood’s culture and make the most of their year abroad.
At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, senior Urszula Lipinska came to the United States from Poland, and junior Julian Harms came from Germany.
Lipinska talks about the many reasons why someone might want to be an exchange student, “I wanted to experience learning in other education systems and explore the world more,” Lipinska said.
Harms also finds that attending school in America comes with new adventures, and new things that are very different from Germany.
“New experiences and curiosity were my main reasons [for moving], and my dad told me I could. High schools in America are highly praised internationally,” Harms said.
The Nacel Open Door is an organization that helps kids from around the world experience a semester abroad in a new country. The NOD reached out to Alison Lippa, a mom who was an exchange student herself, hoping she could be Lipinska and Harms’s host mom.
“I started volunteering to help find families, and then that led me eventually to agree to take on exchange students myself this year,” Lippa said.
Lipinska recently became a Nacel Open Door (NOD) star for her amazing experience and story while moving from Poland to Marin. She was also the Rich Banisikowski scholarship winner, which helped her come to California for this school year.
“This experience has really opened our horizons, and helped us step out of our comfort zone,” Lipsinka said.
Schools in Poland and Germany differ significantly from schools in the United States, mainly in the different subjects that are required to be taught.
“I was surprised by how much people care about their high school and the people in it. In our countries, things like sports happen outside of school, and you hang out with different people you didn’t meet at school,” Lipinska said.
Harms also added how different the ‘car culture’ was in the United States compared to Poland and how funny it was to see how some cars looked.
Since transferring, both Harms and Lipinska have noticed how different the classes are here compared to where they are from. Lipinska said, “Classes in Poland are much broader, and there aren’t many specific classes.”
“My favorite class is physiology. It’s very aligned with my passion for medicine and surgery, and there are a lot of hands-on experiences,” Lipinska said.
Both Harms and Lipinska love the travel they have experienced since coming to the United States.
“Traveling around the United States; seeing national parks but also famous cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tahoe and more,” Harms said.
Although many places from around the world speak English, there’s still a language barrier that can occur.
“Every young person in Europe speaks English, so that is not a problem because we can already understand many things,” Lipinska said.
Lippa notes that the lack of a language barrier has helped the students become adjusted to Marin’s atmosphere.
“Their English is great, and they could easily both step into an American university and have no problem keeping up,” Lippa said.
Lipinksa looks forward to attending university in America and continuing her journey here.
“I would love to come back. The US has very good medical schools, which I’m considering. Moreover, I’d love to show California and Marin to my Polish friends,” Lipinksa said.
