LYNN — When St. Mary’s was struggling to find house families to take in students from countries like China as a part of their International Student Program, Academic Registrar Linda Williams was one person who stepped up.
Williams and her husband were nervous at first, but the relationship with one of their students, Lucy, became something she never expected.
“Lucy is like a daughter,” she said. “She’s become a part of the family.”
Williams described the experience as having ups and downs like anything else in life, but overall a great learning experience involving two very different cultures blending in one household.
“We’ve all grown,” she said.
This blending of cultures and growth is the reason St. Mary’s has taken in international students for four years.
“It’s an important piece for us,” said St. Mary’s Head of School Grace Cotter Regan. “Urban school, but a global view.”
This International Student Program is possible thanks to partnerships with international educational service agencies such as EduBoston.
EduBoston and other agencies help partner schools establish long term and sustainable International Student Programs while also working to make sure students have the best possible experiences.
Several of EduBoston’s staff from China visited St. Mary’s on Thursday to take a tour of the school and city that some of the students they’ve helped recruit call home during the school year.
“It’s amazing,” said Alex Ren, who has worked for EduBoston for five years and is from Shanghai. “These kids are the future of two countries coming together.”
One of those 28 international students representing the future Ren describes is Eric Ma from Beijing, who has attended St. Mary’s for the past four years and participates in swimming and the Chinese club.
“The teachers here are good and there are a lot of activities and opportunities for me,” he said.
Another international student is Christopher Zhang from Shanghai. Zhang, who was quick to give recognition to his fellow students and teachers for making St. Mary’s a great place for him, is also involved in tennis and the robotics team.
For students like Zhang and Ma, the road to St. Mary’s involves agencies like EduBoston setting up a student fair in China, each filled with a variety of partner schools like St. Mary’s.
One of the faces of St. Mary’s in China is Director of Enrollment Moira Talbot, who visits China in March for two weeks to interview international students.
“It’s great,” she said. “We’re blessed to see so many different cultures in Lynn and this is a wonderful extension of that.”
