Class of 2025!!

Hey U.S Family! 

As of this year, I have officially graduated in both the U.S and Brazilian school systems, and what an incredible journey it has been! 

When we first arrived in Brazil, I was 9 years old, and within two days of landing in Sao Luis, I began studying at a bilingual school known as Maple Bear, where half the classes were in English and half the classes were in Portuguese. This allowed me to adapt to the language and the school, while still speaking my native language. The friends I made there are still close, and the things I learned still help me today.

However, in the year 2020, an international pandemic hit the world, and shut down schools, and when it returned, it just wasn’t the same. Also, during this period, I was dealing with serious issues in both knees, which made going to school a very difficult task. So, in the middle of the school year, I left Maple Bear, but to this day I am grateful for the experience because without that school I would have never adapted to this country the way I have.

So, in order to continue my education, I switched to an online school based in Kansas City known as Acellus Academy. Acellus is an accredited school in which the courses are self-paced, meaning that the only limit to how much you can accomplish is your learning speed, which allowed me to finish 4 years of high school in a shorter amount of time, granting me a High School Honors diploma with a 4.0 gpa (I know, I’m a nerd.) while balancing surgeries on both knees and a long and arduous recovery. This style of school allowed me to continue to learn while dealing with the difficulties of being a missionary and having some pretty complicated medical problems, and I’m extraordinarily grateful for this alternative of school.

However, towards the end of my Acellus years, it became pretty apparent that I would have to find something to do, because graduating at the age of 16 in Brazil is pretty unheard of, and it would be difficult to find a college to go to, especially after not having been enrolled in a Brazilian school for high school. However, as always, the Lord was already putting plans in motion, even though I had no idea.

Towards the end of the year in 2024, at our church we hosted an English learning course/ Bible study and I volunteered to help. Alongside me helping was my good friend Isabella, who, through talking, I discovered studied at a school called Dom Bosco. It turned out that a large number of my old friends from Maple Bear also studied there, and that started the process of me considering going there to do my Senior Year of Brazilian school. After lots of studying for the entry test, and after a few weeks of waiting, I was accepted into the senior year class.

This last year, which was my senior year, has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I got to reunite with old friends, make new ones, and really push myself. After 3 years of online school, being back in a real school was a necessary step, and it couldn’t have been better.

In mid-November, I got to take the Brazilian National Standardized Test (ENEM), and 2 weeks later got to graduate alongside my old friends and new ones. While I was the only new student this year, they made me feel like I had been there my whole life, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

So, now having graduated, I would like to thank all of you that supported my education. You all have shown me so much love and support, and you all have influenced me to become a better person. God bless you all!

-Jude