When Ms. Taylor announced that a new Round Square student was arriving at Hackley to board in the upcoming weeks, students eagerly anticipated his arrival.

On his first day, Marvin Seiler was quiet and kept to himself. The following day he revealed his true personality. Marvin is bold and unafraid to say what he thinks, claiming that “soccer is the best sport.”

Marvin came to Hackley from Birklehof School in the Southwest region of Germany. Marvin’s parents live in Switzerland, but he boards at his school in Germany. Marvin has known for a while that he wanted to go on an exchange program to the United States because he wants to go to college here.

Marvin also felt it would be a good opportunity to practice his English, saying “I used to go to a bilingual school, but now I go to a school where they only speak German.”

According to Marvin, the biggest difference between his school in Germany and Hackley is the emphasis that is placed on sports. Marvin is an avid soccer player, so a strong sports program is important to him.

Marvin said that “[At his school] there are no teams and sports are not mandatory.” This is in stark contrast to Hackley where there are various organized sports teams and PE classes that students are required to be a part of in order to graduate. Luckily for him, the most popular sport in his school is soccer.

Marvin took advantage of the gym requirement at Hackley by participating in volleyball and track. Throughout his visit, Marvin enjoyed playing volleyball on Mondays and Wednesdays with his friends and coach Mary DiNardo, as it allowed him to bring out his competitive side. In addition to playing two sports, he made full use of the Johnson Health and Wellness Center, often staying late after P.E. to work out in preparation for soccer season in Germany.

Marvin took most of his classes with sophomores; he took English 10, U.S. History, and Algebra II. However, instead of taking chemistry, he took physics with freshmen, as he had not taken the course in Germany. Marvin said that physics was his favorite class.

Another big difference that Marvin noticed between his school and Hackley is that classes are much more based on discussion here. He says “here [at Hackley] the teachers actually include you in the discussion instead of just talking.”

Marvin feels that Hackley’s emphasis on students makes classes much more interesting, and makes it easier for him to understand what is going on.

Although Marvin took a full course load at Hackley, he still had to do work from his school in Germany. Marvin still took assessments in some of his classes despite not having to complete the homework for his classes at Hackley. This gave him free time over the weekend, which he took advantage of by hanging out with his host family.

Sophomore Sean Ford hosted Marvin on the weekends and took him on trips to Manhattan. He also attended a community service event with Hackley’s Soup Kitchen Club. During the week Marvin stayed in boarding. Sophomore Jaewoo Bang, who also boards at Hackley, said “Marvin is a very interesting kid, and it was great to have him at Hackley.”

Marvin’s last day at Hackley was May 18th. He greatly enjoyed his time here, and the felt it helped him practice his English. After leaving Hackley, Marvin is spending a week with his Grandma in New York City before heading back to Germany.

Although Marvin greatly enjoyed his time at Hackley, he looks forward to returning to Germany and spending time with his family and friends from school.