Junior Biruk Asmare immigrated to the United States in 2013 when he was 10 years old.

He immigrated all the way from Ethiopia with his family.

His parents came here with their children’s future in mind.

Similar to many other AHS families that have immigrated to the United States, his family came here seeking for better educational oppurtunities.

The first time that Asmare arrived, many different emotions were going through him.

“When I first arrived in the U.S. I was having mixed emotions because I was unhappy with everything I left behind but also excited to start a new life,” Asmare said.

Having to leave his life in Ethiopia behind and moving to a new country wasn’t something that he was happy with.

“I was disappointed because it was a sudden change and I had to leave my school, family, and friends behind,” Asmare said.

Immigrating at a young age allowed Asmare to adjust to a new environment and culture without any major obstacles.

“I did not have trouble adjusting to life in the U.S. because I was still in elementary school and I made friends easily,” Asmare said.

He also didn’t face a language barrier like most other kids that have immigrated to a new country do.

He had the opportunity of learning English in his old school so he knew it pretty well.

According to Asmare, the way that people live their lives in both countries is different.

“I noticed that life in the U.S. is a lot more simplified than in Ethiopia,” Asmare said.

He also notices that the school systems in the United States are very different from the one in Ethiopia

“Here we go to school for 12 years but in Ethiopia kids go to school for less years,” Asmare said.

Asmare appreciates his parents efforts of bringing his family here to give them a better opportunity education wise and life wise.

Being able to have limitless choices for his future is one of the things that he enjoys most about living in the United States.

“I like how there are a lot of opportunities for a person to become successful in what they want to do,” Asmare said.

In school Asmare takes full advantage of his education and challenges himself with IB classes this school year.

He is also an IB diploma candidate.

In addition, outside of school Asmare is a member of the AHS track team.

Even though Asmare is pretty happy with his life here now, he still misses some of the perks that he had when living in Ethiopia.

“I missed being able to enjoy my family and friends that were always around me back in Ethiopia,” Asmare said.

Asmare hasn’t really had the chance to visit Ethiopia ever since he first immigrated, however he really wants to in the future.