REGENT REVIEW-- MAY 2018

SCHOOL NEWS
Looking Back: Reflections from a West Exchange Student
By Stella Rumble
Every year, students from
around the globe come to West
as exchange students. Going to
school in a new country with
a different language and culture
equates to a different high
school experience than what
most of us are used to. I caught
up with one person who has
experienced this, Elettra Donelli,
and asked her about her senior
year as a foreign exchange student
at West during the 2016-
2017 school year.
Elettra came to Madison
from her hometown in Milan,
Italy and spent her senior year
here. After graduating from
West, she decided to attend
university in Amsterdam, where
she is studying psychology.
How was it to you to leave Italy
to come to Madison? And how
was it to leave Madison?
I’ve always wanted to
live abroad, meet new people,
make new memories... but when
I left Milan, I’ve got to admit, I
was pretty scared. Leaving my
home, my family, my friends
to go somewhere I had never
been to and where I didn’t know
anybody for an entire year terrified
me. I still remember getting
on the plane for Chicago with so
many mixed feelings. I felt sad
and scared but at the same time
I felt excited and full of hope.
When I got to Madison and first
met my host family I couldn’t
stop thinking,
“What if I don’t like them?” or
actually “ what if they don’t like
me?”
Finding out that my host
parents were such nice and
funny people with three amaz-
ing kids made me feel relieved
and made my transition from
my Italian reality to the American
one way easier. Finding
the courage to get over my fear
ended up turning into one of
the best experiences of my life.
I made so many friends that are
now all around the world and
made memories that will always
be with me. It was an amazing
year and I miss Madison
and each and every one of the
people I met there every day. I
will forever be grateful for those
who truly welcomed me as part
of their family. I’d do it all over
again if I had the chance to.
What are your favorite memories
from West?
One of my favorite moments
at West goes all the way
back to the very beginning of
the scholastic year, when I still
didn’t know a lot of people in
Madison. Everyday for the first
semester I had an hour of home
room in which I met some great
people that then became some of
my best friends. I like to remember
those days because that’s
when I made friendships that
I will cherish for the rest of my
life.
All the best memories
that I have from West became
such for the smallest detail, such
as the arrival of a new girl in my
math class, that then became so
important for me. I will always
remember senior skip day, fine
arts week, the gym classes spent
with two of the most amazing
girls in this world and the time
spent singing with Dressed to
Trill [an a capella group].
What are you studying now?
How was the transition from
West to where you are now?
Now that I’ve moved
back to Europe, I study psychology
in Amsterdam. I’ve always
known I wanted to study abroad
but my experience in Madison
made me realize how much I
needed constant change in my
life, meeting new people and living
in different cities. It made me
confident enough to jump into
new experiences. For this reason
I decided not to go back to Milan
(my hometown) and to keep
traveling instead.
How would you compare your
Italian high school to West high
school?
One thing I loved about
high school in America is that
there are so many after school
activities between clubs and
sports, which we don’t have in
the Italian high school. I really
enjoyed the football and hockey
matches and the concerts and
Elettra graduating from West last June
plays at school, partly because
it was something new for me
and partly because it gave me
the opportunity to meet up with
friends and cheer for the school’s
teams. Italian schools are usually
much more strict, both for
the school program and for the
attendance and tardiness compared
to the American one.
What did you like to do outside
of school when you went to
West?
I used to hang out at
friends’ houses a lot during
winter, or go downtown or to
the lakes after school or on the
weekends. I sometimes did
weekend trips to Milwaukee and
Chicago and day trips to Devil’s
Lake. After school I sometimes
stayed at West to practice with
the Dressed to Trill singing
group and, as I said before, I
enjoyed going to the hockey and
football matches, to concerts and
plays at West, and going to the
cinema with friends.
Protest continued from
page 1
goers. Even though they make
up on 27% of the general population,
40% of marchers since
2016 have been Democrats.
Kaiser discovered that at least
half of participants in rallies
cited President Trump as at
least part of their motivation,
and that 52% of those attending
supported only liberal causes.
Whether these statistics
are predictive of a “blue
wave” of Democratic victory
in the 2018 midterms is yet
to be seen. Democrats are encouraged
by the 44% of protesters
who are older than
50 and by the 36% who earn
more than $100,000 a year, as
older and wealthier folks tend
to be demographics that typi-
cally lean right.
Still, activist fervor is
often intense, but temporary,
so there is reasons for liberals
to temper their optimism if
the current energy peters out
before the fall.
Furthermore, while
young people are often on the
front lines of rallies and mass
protests, only around a fifth
of 18-24 year olds voted in the
2010 midterms.
If the next generation
wants to be heard on the Hill,
they will need to exercise their
constitutional right to vote, as
well as just assemble.
Class of 2018 Graduation
West students recieving
scholarships, awards, and
honors will be recognized at
the Honors Convaction, taking
place Wednesday, May 30
at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium.
The Senior Class Party
will be held in the Cafenasium
on Saturday, June 2nd from
7-11 pm. Final exams will begin
on June 4th.
On Wednesday June 6th
at 12:30 in the Stevens Gym,
the Senior Class Picture will
be taken.
The commencement
ceremony for West High
School’s senior class of 2018
will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday,
June 9th at the University
of Wisconsin Kohl Center.
Join the Staff of the Regent Review!
Come to Room 3002 the second half of
Monday lunch!