Oakhill Newsroom
Grüezi or Guten Tag mean "Hello" from Dasha!
Dasha McDonald, 2016 graduate and freshman at Pembroke Hill is heading overseas! We asked her to share about this experience that she has coming up next fall.
Tell us about your opportunity to study aboard this fall.
Swiss Semester is a really cool program that I've been interested in ever since I first heard of it from some of my tennis friends, before school even started. Every year, Pembroke sends 2 students to a study abroad program in Switzerland for their first semester of their sophomore year. In Swiss, students live in a resort, that's the main selling-point right there, at the base of a mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland. On weekends, Swiss Semester takes excursions to places like Italy and France to explore the culture of various European cities. Instead of having a regular school day, the Swiss Semester program includes 4 classes in the morning, then 5 hours of outdoor activity (whether it be hiking, skiing, climbing, helicopter rides, etc.), then 2 more classes in school. But, the school run by Swiss is also known to be one of the harder high schools in the world, in a city with no internet access or technological privileges where studying is done from books and essays are written by hand. So that's also taken into consideration (laughs).
How did you apply?
Before I applied, I talked to people that had participated, and it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. To apply, I wrote a total of four essays on why I believed I should get in, who I am as a person, and why I was applying. Oh, and the essays had to be handwritten, a head start into next year's semester! A few weeks later, I found out I, along with one of my close friends, had been accepted! I could not, and still cannot, be more excited to take advantage of such an opportunity life has thrown at me!
Will you miss your family while away?
Of course! But they are even able to come for a visit! Families get to spend a weekend with us and see our program in action! My little sister Katerina is really looking forward to their trip!
I would recommend all students take opportunities like this at any school!
Find out more about this AWESOME program here!