My name is Eo Stojadinović, and this year I’m the ASSIST program exchange student from Serbia. St Christopher’s has changed my life for the better, and it’s offered me many new opportunities to take classes and participate in sports that I enjoy.

My courseload while here has included classes in calculus, economics, environmental science, history, American literature, Spanish and writing.  All these classes have helped me improve my knowledge and thinking in their respective subject matters. 

For me, Calculus has been one of my harder classes I’ve taken here. The main reason for this is that math in Europe is taught much differently than here in the U.S. In Europe, the subject is learned by doing a bit of every topic in math, where-as here math classes are more narrowly focused. It was also a unique challenge since I’ve never even heard of precalculus. Ms. Marissa Sanghvi has been a huge helping hand to me, and I’m really glad to have had such a dedicated teacher. She’s always willing to help students during or outside of class.

I’m also a huge history lover, but have never been able to focus on U.S. history while back home in Serbia. Mr. Scott Van Arnsdale has taught me this country’s history in extreme detail: all the way from the beginning with the American Revolution to the present day.

Next, Mr. Andrew Maynard has helped me listen to English being spoken in the room more frequently and taught me how to write interesting stories with unique plots. I really liked his class, Writer’s Workshop, despite it only being one semester. Mr. Maynard has helped me express my ideas in stories and make them more engaging.

I’ve previously taken business classes back in Serbia, but St. Christopher’s doesn’t offer business. However, it does offer sections of AP Economics (Micro and Macro) at St. Catherine’s. This class has been one of my hardest classes as it involves math, new economic language, outside of the box thinking and many other concepts. This class, taught by Mr. Doug Bader, will definitely help me prepare better for college. I’ve also picked AP Environmental Science because I’m very interested in mixing this subject with economics. I also wanted to try something fresh and different from biology, which I studied back home. 

In regards to the mixing of these two subjects, I’d like to efficiently create new, more environ-mentally-friendly product packaging and successfully take it to market. This idea would reduce other businesses’ overall pollution by being a more eco-friendly option. I really like this class because Ms. Jennifer Harper always assigns interesting lab analysis and experiments, which are sometimes part of a field trip. I’ve learned a lot from this class, and hope to use what I’ve learned to inform others and maintain a sustainable environment for the future.

Another aspect of St. Christopher’s that sets it apart from other schools is its diverse and dedicated athletic programs. I’m currently on Varsity Outdoor Track, and run both 100 and 200 meter sprints. In the winter, I also did Indoor Track, running 55 and 300 meter sprints. While many think it’s boring because the exercise is repetitive, our team is extremely motivated all the time and has really good energy. One thing I really like about track is the fact that you can see improvement after every race through the timing and recording of your run. I thought this in particular was really cool, because in other sports it can be harder to tell when someone improves in a certain skill. In addition, Coach Evans is a really impactful coach, and I really appreciate her teaching me how to set up my blocks and have proper body movement while running sprints.

Finally, I would like to give a big thank you to my host family (the Schauer family) for letting me stay at their house for the whole year. I have two younger host brothers in 1st and 3rd grade named William and Christian (respectively). I’m an only child, so having siblings (and especially younger ones) is a new thing for me. It’s great! I also like spending time with my host parents, who have also been amazing to get to know and talk to over the course of the year.