Urban has over a hundred new students wandering around its halls, so to acquaint the community with a few of these unfamiliar faces, some new students shared interesting facts about themselves and how they are transitioning into Urban.

Name: Sophia Gibson  

Grade: 9

Previous school: Star of the Sea

Sport: Cross Country

Favorite season: Winter

Go to movie: “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”

Food she’ll never be sick of: Cup noodles

Staple shoe: White Pumas

Favorite lunch spot: Alumni Lounge

Fun Fact: Lived on a sailboat by Treasure Island for a year

Being on the cross country team has made Sophia’s transition into Urban less jarring because when she walks around campus and recognizes team members it “makes school feel less like a hospital [that] is sterile and has weird faces everywhere.”

Name: Jaydon Aquino

Grade: 10

Favorite color: Purple (specifically a darker, royal purple)

Sport: Basketball

Favorite season: Summer

Go to book: “Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence” by Gary Mack

Food he’ll never be sick of: Waffles

Staple shoe: Nike Air Max 97

Fun Fact: A video of him dancing with his teachers was posted on WorldStar

Jaydon commented on a difference he noticed between his previous high school in Illinois and Urban, saying, “[At Urban, we] have to talk way more and at my last school there were rows so [we] could just sit back and retain the information like that.”

Name: Willow Brown

Grade: 9

Previous school: Gateway Middle School

Favorite color: Lime green

Sport: Volleyball

Favorite season: Fall

Go to book: “I’ll Give You the Sun” by Jandy Nelson

Food she’ll never be sick of: American food (hamburgers and mac’n’cheese)

Staple shoe: White shoes (Nike Air Max or Air Force 1) or clogs

Fun fact: Likes art and drawing

The Urban Bridge Program has helped Willow with her transition into Urban through “meetings about inclusivity, how to study in a private school, and what is expected of you… I learned a lot there that I didn’t know.”

Name: Pablo Lopez

Grade: 9

Previous school: Rooftop Middle School

Favorite color: Red

Favorite season: Summer

Food he’ll never be sick of: Burritos

Staple shoe: Adidas NMDs or Vans

Fun fact: Likes bike riding

In comparison to his old school, Pablo said that people at Urban are more “excited to be here, it’s not like they’re dreading to come to school… at my old school, there were kids that would just fall asleep in class and wouldn’t care.”