The international student program at Campion Academy continues to grow with the arrival of new Brazilian students. Seven students started recently, who all came from Adventist families and schools in Brazil.
The students came for the purpose of learning English and plan to earn their high school diploma at Campion Academy. Zeca Santana was instrumental in recruiting the students and making arrangements for them. “I have felt an affinity toward Brazil for many years,” Santana commented, “and I thought culturally it would be good for Campion. Brazilians have a vibrancy of life, and I wanted to bring some of that here.”
The new students were greeted warmly by mentor students at Campion. The mentor students help new international students make friends and integrate into the campus culture by walking with them to classes, eating meals with them and participating in activities with them during the first few weeks of arrival.
In addition to the new students, a college-age volunteer from Brazil also joined the staff at Campion for this semester. Erika Faria is a senior college student at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro where she studies music education. She will assist in the music department, the ELL classes and in the girls dorm. “I needed an experience to improve my English and I chose Campion Academy because I saw an opportunity to improve my English and work with music in a Christian environment,” she explained.
