Imagine you find yourself away from home, in a completely unfamiliar place. Your friends are gone, your home is left behind, and you don’t even understand the language being spoken around you. Though oftentimes undiscussed, this is or was the plight of a vast number of students in the Great Neck Community.

Last year, Sarit Gad set out to give the majority of the student body a small glimpse into what it’s like to come to Great Neck as an immigrant, and to remind us of the challenges and necessary resilience that comes with being an immigrant to Great Neck North High School.

In the interview, three immigrants of Great Neck and America discussed the transformation from their native country to Great Neck, and the challenges that go along with the adjustment.

As Sarit recounts, “Preparing the story was really interesting because I got to hear the struggle and perspective of immigrants from different countries […] Although Great Neck is a community with many different groups of people who have immigrated to America, I feel that sometimes the different groups don’t really get to know one another and make assumptions rather than sitting down and exchanging stories.”

Often times the hardships that many immigrants of Great Neck have to face are underrepresented and even marginalized. Great Neck North High School is fortunate enough to have great diversity within its student body, but the uniqueness in perspectives is often times too divided, or silenced.

Thanks to the willingness to share their stories, Anita Zhang, Karina Mena, and Omer Shafir, help us remember the beauty in diversity, and the courage in being an immigrant.