On Monday February 25, ten sophomores, juniors and seniors from South went to Sayreville War Memorial High School as part of the MHSS Diversity Council’s exchange program. Luke Lawson, Ryan Cotterell, Rob Martini, KC Noguiera, John Scalzo, Kelly Lozo, Tina Naha, Kate Banach, Skylar Barney and Kristen West roamed the halls of Sayreville with members of the Sayreville Peer Leaders program.

Junior Kelly Lozo relished the opportunity to meet new students and learn in a different environment while sitting in classes with senior Maalin Das. “My experience at Sayreville was engaging–the students were so much like us here at South, yet they were people of all races and religions.”

Despite noting the juxtaposition between South’s lack of racial diversification and Sayreville’s large population of Indians, Arabs, and African Americans, Lozo maintains that both schools share similarities. “Though Sayreville is bigger, the classes there felt very much the same as last year at South without block scheduling.”

The resemblance also manifests in the curriculum and teaching styles. Lozo, who takes AP United States History, observed Das’s AP U.S.H. class and was pleasantly surprised to find that Das was also learning about the Korean War. Lozo was especially taken by Das’s AP U.S.H. teacher, who demonstrated the same engaging and knowledgeable teaching as South’s own Ms. D’Urso. “Maalin’s teacher was very similar to Ms. D’Urso. Both draw students into discussions, creating an intellectually engaging classroom.”

Though the members of the Diversity Council gained individual insights from their experience at Sayreville, they observed a common phenomenon: Sayreville students, like South students, exhibit a universal passion for learning that transcends racial barriers and affirms the unifying power of diversity.