Because his father works here in the U.S., junior Jatin Kulal decided to move his life here all the way from Canada for better educational opportunities. He found an opportunity like this when he came to SHS and found himself in math teacher Ethan Coffman’s classroom.
When Kulal started attending SHS this year, he started in Coffman’s Algebra II prep class. Coffman says he quickly realized that his skill level had potential beyond that course, so he switched Kulal to his Honors Algebra II class.

“He’s one of the top guys in my class,” Coffman said. “So it’s been great.”

According to Coffman, Kulal had about a week of struggling when he first switched classes, but now he is just “running with it.” Coffman says that jumping from a regular to honors course is hard in math, especially at a new school and in a one-month period, but despite this, Coffman says that Kulal remains optimistic.

Kulal says that Coffman has been extremely helpful in aiding him with time management, especially in preparation for quizzes and tests. Kulal says that Coffman pushes him enough to allow him to grow and practice on his own. Kulal feels that there have been some hard points, but he expects that he will get better with practice and Coffman’s constant aid.

Coffman is excited to see how the year goes with Kulal and their developing friendship because he feels there is so much more to him than what he’s seen so far.

“There’s a really deep story that I’m just starting to unravel,” Coffman said. “He’s like an onion.”

Kulal says that there is not much that he misses about Canada because he can stay connected to his family and friends. He is unsure about whether he will stay in the U.S. permanently or if he will go back to Canada after this school year, depending on his visa and how the rest of his year at SHS plays out.
Kulal says there are not many apparent differences between his Canadian school and SHS, aside from a lack of study hall in Canada and the addition of another class here. Besides these differences, Kulal is starting to feel comfortable at SHS.

“The people are nice here,” Kulal said. “There’s many activities to do, so I’m pretty much finding my place here.”