Nicholas “Nicki” Tamayo is a soccer player who also enjoys water activities. Adventurous, he loves spearfishing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, kite surfing, and surfing, also aspiring to travel the world.

In 8th grade over Christmas, Nicki shared an act of kindness that would forever shape his outlook. He decided to bring gifts to those less fortunate. Nicki recalls that year when he visited a group of children, whose circumstances weren’t the best. He brought the festive spirit of the season as he and his friends dressed up as Santa and the elves while handing out gifts.

“This is something I’ll always carry with me,” he recalled. – Isa Alzati

Freshman Madison Vega joined ILS for specific reasons.

“There are so many extracurricular activities and clubs,” she said

Madison opted for ILS  also because she knows friends and family who go or have been here, or because it was the closest option.

“I also chose here because of the sports,” she said.

She plays soccer and joined the dance team.

Career-wise, she is focused on her future.

“I either want to be a doctor or therapist,” she said. -Aubree Arango

Marco Law, from Madrid, Spain, very much misses his hometown.

“I like it here.I feel like I’ve adapted to the different lifestyle and made friends, but, to be honest, I haven’t really felt at home ever since I left Spain,” he said.

Seeing Marco in the hallway, he seems like a confident, easygoing person whom anyone could have guessed to be a Miami native.

“My life in Spain was very different than here. We would always walk everywhere instead of using the car. I remember walking to my friends house and riding bikes around the city,” he recalled. -Ella Baker

Kevin Matas Plays Guitar.

Originally from Nicaragua and Guatemala, he is a musician.

“I like playing the guitar, building stuff with my brother, and working with computers,” he said.

Kevin chose ILS because his older brother attended, and most of his friends are starting here as well.

What is he most excited about?

“Football!”

He hopes he gets to wear the same jersey number that his older brother had.-Daniela Beltran

Alia Baker looks ahead.

High school can be very intimidating, what with the number of classes, work, etc. For Alia Baker, she is concerned about her teachers.

“If my teachers will be nice or not,”  she said.

That may be a common worry among incoming freshmen, though thankfully she reassured that all of her teachers are very nice.

Alia at first  thought there would be more people here and more classes.

“I am looking forward to making new friends, going to games, and having a good high school experience overall,” she said. -Maria Ignacia Cadenas

Kristen Bachmann has been swimming since the age of five.

Prepared to juggle club and school teams, Kristen’s mind is made up.

“I’m joining the ILS swim team,” she said.

Coming from St. Patrick Catholic School, Kristen explained her relationship with ILS.

“My brother, Klaus Bachmann, goes to school here,” she said.

Making sure to be active in and out of school, Kristen strives to explore all ILS has to offer.

“I want to become a part of the SALTT club and the Ambassadors Club,” she explained.

Becoming a part of the active ILS community is a way she hopes to gain lasting friendships and make an impact at school.

“A criminal defense attorney,” she said.

“Although I love swimming, it’s not something I want to do professionally.” she said.

Kristen finds swimming to be very therapeutic.

Her passion for criminal defense stems from watching and listening to videos of true crime. She loves the way criminal defense attorneys protect their clients’ constitutional rights and strive to be as persuasive and confident as the attorneys she sees on screen.

“It’s inspiring to see how they can still be so confident and understanding when faced with negative public perceptions and the pressure the job entails,” she added.

Although Defense attorneys often get a harsh reputation due to media scrutiny, Kristen admires their persistence and courage to take on a job that many will not . -Eva de la Torre

Sabina Morelli came from Saint Rose of Lima

Excited for her next four years of high school, Sabina is energized.

“I’ve been in this school for a short while, yet it’s already really fun and interesting,” she said.

A student-athlete who will be trying out for the swim team, Sabina has been swimming competitively since age seven.

Happy with her teachers, Sabina reflects a positive attitude.

“So far they’ve all been pretty nice and I feel like I am going to learn a lot from them,” she said.

Presently, she is a part of the STEAM program for law as her law teacher is Ms. Marisol Vilasuso, who was an attorney prior to becoming a teacher. –Briana Del Oro

Jonathan Olavarrieta is interested in joining sports.

“My brother Nicholas went here and I’ve gotten many good recommendations,” he said. I

He chose ILS primarily for the basketball program.

“I’ve played basketball since I was seven, and it seems like ILS basketball is great,” he said.

This makes sense because the ILS Boys’ Basketball team has been a sensation for many years.

“Ever since I saw a basketball, I knew that’s all I wanted to do, but I haven’t had the chance,”  he said.

He is very passionate for the sport.

“Even if I make JV, it would still be an accomplishment for me,” he said. –Luna Fernandez

Fernanda Martinez has fashion sense.

“I came here on my 7th grade tour, and I fell in love with the school and the atmosphere,” Fernandez remembers.

I’m really enjoying it so far. There are also a lot of clubs and sports that I’m interested in,” she added.

Fernanda plans to join the Fashion Club, Drama Club, and the Dance team.

“I love fashion and I want to be a designer one day,” she said.

She believes the pandemic had a big impact.

“Well, I think that the pandemic affected everyone and every class in different ways. I feel like

because of the pandemic my class hasn’t really matured completely and we still kind of feel like

we’re in middle school. It’s pretty weird that I’m already in high school,” she said.  Fernanda added that her

class was robbed in a way of these experiences because of the pandemic. -Victoria Harding

Nora Roca spent the summer in Italy.

A non-Hispanic, unlike the

majority of ILS, she has Italian

roots.

“This summer I visited family in

Italy,” she said.

Nora  is currently

adapting to high school life. So far, she

loves the school. Prior to ILS, she attended St. Hugh. Not many of her old

“Only about five or six people,” she added.

Currently, Nora is involved in the Cross Country team. In

addition, student government is a particular interest.

“I would like to join SGA,” she said. Long term, Nora’s big goal is to attend

Stanford.

“I would like to become a dermatologist” she said. -Valentina Lanza

Tyler Celara previously  attended St. Patrick’s. One of the hardest parts of starting at a new school is having to say goodbye to old friends.

“I would say I miss the people from St. Patricks the most,” he said.

Even though he misses his old school dearly, he has been able to become acquainted at ILS quickly. His favorite thing at ILS so far?

“Probably… the food. Also, the ice cream,” he said.

Tyler is excited to become involved in extracurricular activities at ILS.

“I want to do music, not like band, but I’m taking music theory,” he shared. Starting at a new school is hard, but Tyler is really happy and excited to be where he is, and can’t wait for the rest of the school year. -Ernesto Losada

Isa is adventurous.

In her free time, she enjoys skiing, water polo, and going to the beach. Known for her independence, Isa’s typical day would be to hang out with friends and either go to the mall or beach. From a young age, Isa has always been an adventurous sprit. When Isa was around seven, she had yet to discover that jumping up and down in elevators was not permitted.

“I was proud to be the first one in the elevator,” she said while the elevator had shut before her parents were able to manage to step in. She had an idea. Isa to “celebrate” her aloneness in the elevator by jumping up and down for pure joy. The next thing that Isa knew, she was stuck in an elevator by herself, and waiting to get help.

Isa said this event was, “a very traumatic one I will never forget,” -Jasmine Rassi

Sofia fell from her swing set.

At age four, she was playing on a swing set when disaster struck. She fell from the swing, landing hard, and injuring her head. Reflecting on that moment, Sofia recalled.

“It was truly frightening. What stands out in my memory is my mother’s swift reaction as she rushed me to the hospital.”

The situation grew even more harrowing during the car ride to the hospital. Sofia’s parents had to improvise, using a towel to staunch the bleeding from her head injury.

“My mother’s composure was nothing short of remarkable,” Sofia reflected. “She kept me calm, holding that towel around my head throughout the ride. Thankfully, the doctors were able to stitch me up.”

Sofia, who did not suffer any lasting injuries, is deeply appreciative of her mother’s quick thinking and unwavering support during that challenging time. -Lucia Salazar

Bryan Henrique loves cross country.

He believes it contributes to his stamina and overall mood.

“Running helps with my physical endurance, and I love meeting new people and listening to all their stories of where they come from,” he explained.

Bryan believes that cross country is a great way to strengthen relationships with acquaintances he has not gotten to know yet.

It’s also a great way to take advantage of ILS’ lush campus.

“I enjoy my classes here because they are kind of easy and very interesting,” he added.

After school, Bryan likes to play video games.

“Playing video games allows me to escape reality and enter a fun world in which I get to enjoy my own creations,” he said.

Bryan’s favorite video games are Minecraft and Terraria, both of which allow him to create a world with endless possibilities. -Miguel Suarez Cabal

Thalia’s move here was heartbreaking.

Emotionally trying is one way to describe the reason freshman Thalia Sajous came to Miami from Haiti. Her family made the decision last December because of the political insecurity in the island nation. The conditions there were affecting her education and it was getting too dangerous to live there which forced them to move.

“We would always be on Zoom and staying home due to protests going on. There were lots of kidnappings and our parents never really felt safe sending us to school,” she recalled.

As unsafe as it may be, a part of Thalia will always miss Haiti since she has a lot of friends and family who still live there as well as her beautiful beach house that she loves so much.

For now, she is excited to begin this new phase in her life.

“I think l’m ready for this chapter. My family will always come visit, and one day, when the country is better, I hope we can go back to our beach house,” she said.

Today, Thalia can focus one her hobbies and passions which include tennis and baking.

“I play tennis every week and enjoy doing so though I don’t see myself playing professionally, but that can change in the future,” she said.  -Martina Tonkin

Sofia Fink loves animals.

So much so that she and her mom have eight chickens. She came to La Salle from a small school, Centner Academy, along with most of her friends.

“Everyone from my small school came here, and I have lots of friends here,” she said.

So far, she’s had a good experience at ILS, finding it easy to make new friends. Her favorite classes are Marketing and English.

“I’ve really liked it so far,” she said.

Sofia looks forward to running Track.

I’m excited even though I was originally going to do Cross Country, but I think I’ll enjoy track more,” she said. -Brecelis Valdes