Moving schools can be tough. There are lots of new things to learn, people to meet, and rules to adapt to. This can be hard for everyone, but for freshman Jack Ward, it was a different kind of difficult. 

Jack didn’t grow up in Kansas. He didn’t even grow up in America. Jack was born in Ireland, and lived there for the first 7 years of his life. 

Before moving to the US, Jack went to a primary school called Ballyclare.  When he came to the US, he had to adapt to the different changes between the Irish and American schools. There, he had to wear a uniform every day, which usually consisted of a sweatshirt and a white collared shirt. 

Another big change was that most of the schools were either Catholic or Protestant schools, and there were very few integrated schools.

So far, Jack likes that we don’t require uniforms at our school, and that we have more students. At his old school, Jack only had 20 people in his class. 

“I really like the people here,” he says. “Everyone has been really nice.”

There are lots of differences between the US and Ireland, but the biggest difference is the weather. “A very hot day in Ireland is about 85 degrees. It gets really hot in America, so that is something I definitely had to adjust to. It’s also very green there because it rains so much. It would rain at the same time every single day,” Jack says. 

Another big difference pertains to athletics. In Ireland, the two main sports are soccer and rugby. There is very little football, and Jack’s favorite sport, baseball, is not played there. 

“I started playing baseball when I came to America, and I have loved it, so I’m glad I got the opportunity to come here and play it.”

In Ireland, Jack enjoyed eating foods like curry fries (french fries with chicken curry sauce poured over them) and sausage rolls. Here, Jack enjoys eating Little Caeser’s pizza and nachos. 

When Jack moved from Ireland to America, he came with his mom, dad, and little sister, Eden, who was 18 months old at the time. 

“I was sad to leave my mom’s side of the family behind, but I was really excited to come to America. It really lived up to my expectations.” 

So far, Jack has lived in America for 8 years and has loved it. 

“I’m really glad my family chose to come to America. I wouldn’t want to ever leave.”