Finding a home in Harrisonburg: Meet students who are new to HHS

Two years of a personal art teacher, three years at a top-ranking art school, and an undeniable passion for animation. Senior William Walker, a first year student at Harrisonburg High School, first discovered his enthusiasm for the artistic world in middle school. “I went through a lot in middle school. I didn’t really have much else I was good at, but throughout all the time I was going throu...

Sherman High School in Sherman, Texas is where freshman Edgar Bautista used to call home. Moving to a different school isn’t new to Bautista. In fact, he’s moved seven times in his life. This time, he landed in Harrisonburg around two months ago. “[Harrisonburg High School is] pretty good. it’s better than my other school,” Bautista said. With families moving around for multiple reasons, B...

About two weeks ago, the student population of HHS went up by one when junior Sarimar Rios-Ramirez packed up her stuff and moved from Broadway to Harrisonburg. Ramirez lived in Broadway for five years before her family decided to look for a more diverse area to continue her education. “I [came to Harrisonburg] because I was zoned here and also because of the diversity, it was a lot more diverse,” Rios-...

You likely know everyone you’ve gone to school with for the past 10 years. You also probably haven’t changed school systems at all since you started. Freshman Henry Matter, however, has transferred from Redeemer Classical School to the Harrisonburg Public School System this year. “We don’t have a high school [at Redeemer]. There is Blue Ridge Christian school, but my parents figured that I, with a...