Stephen

"The people here are kind."

By Students of NYC

March 23^rd, 2026

"I was born as a triplet. A few days later, my brother contracted pseudomonas infection. The doctors started to treat all three of us immediately. We were in critical condition. My brother didn’t make it. But because of the early treatment, the hard work of doctors and multiple blood transfusions, my sister and I lived. My brother saved our lives. His name was William, and he's a big reason I want to become a doctor. I want to pay it forward. I donated blood the very first day I could — on my 16th birthday, and I’ve been donating ever since. Right now, I’m organizing a blood drive at my school.

My family had already been thinking about moving even before the war started. I’m against wars. I believe people should try to solve problems without fighting. For my family, it was a moral choice to leave. When you live in Russia, even if you don’t officially support the war, your taxes help pay for it. In reality, you couldn’t really feel the war in Moscow. It’s far from the front. But by staying there, we felt like we were supporting something we didn’t believe in.

Moscow is actually very similar to New York. But people here? They are much more friendly. In Moscow, if you say hello to a random person you don’t know, people will think you’re weird. Here, it’s normal to say hi to people in the elevator or wish your neighbors a good day. I was afraid that I would be bullied when I came to school here. My English is not as good as the English of the kids who have been here all their lives. People here don’t look like me. But the kids here have been so friendly. During my first week, I was standing alone in the lunchroom, and a boy came and asked if I wanted to sit with them. So I went and sat, and we started talking. It’s been good ever since.

For me, understanding English is easier than speaking it. Sometimes it’s difficult to express my ideas clearly in words. But it feels like the kids here don’t mind the things that sometimes make me feel ashamed, and that helps a lot. A lot of times they ask me about Russia — both my classmates and my teachers. What it’s like there and what I think about the war. Even though I’m not proud of the decisions made by the government there, I still like talking about my culture. And it felt nice that people were interested. Honestly, I think most of the school loves me. In the hallway, people I don’t know yell my name. You could say I’m sort of famous here. In my swim team I have the nickname 'the Russian Machine.' A boy named Bilal, who was my first friend here, made it up. I’m a good swimmer, and in 9th grade I was named the MVP. There may be fights here sometimes, but truly, the people here are kind.

This may not be considered a 'prestigious' school, but you know what? The opportunities here are plenty. I take college courses related to medicine through Plaza College. I was also able to shadow doctors through a partnership with St. John’s Hospital. I got to talk with the medical students, work with them, sit in the same room with them. I even got to shadow pediatricians, and see how they interact with children and their parents. I saw how a doctor gave a child crayons and paper so he’d have something to do while they spoke to the parents. In the hospital, I felt important. I really like the opportunities that the school offers, you know? I really like this place. I have a 102 average, and I'm on track to be valedictorian. Something I have learned: If you want to achieve something, and you can’t do it in one way, find another. If you want to get somewhere and there’s a wall in front of you, don’t stand there forever trying to break that wall. Just go around."