Zephyrus sat down with three current Edina seniors who all left Minnesota for their junior year and returned their senior year. Here were their experiences:

Regan Wagner

Destination: Cremonia, Italy (right outside Milan)

Why she went: Regan has always wanted to go abroad and had the opportunity to do so through Rotary. She knew she was ready to go before college, and has always been interested in Italian culture. Her mom, who studied there in college, also had a strong influence on her.

Missed most: Her family, her friends, and the familiarity of home.

Missed least: “Feeling like you’re stuck where you are,” Wagner said.

Experience coming back: Regan had a surprisingly easy time coming back because she made the transition during the summer and got to hang out with close friends. The transition back to school was much more difficult because EHS is much bigger than the Italian school she attended.

Most memorable experience: Two of the Rotary districts met in Cinque Terre by the ocean. People from all over the world hiked and swam in the ocean. Also, she was able to meet up with Mackenzie Dykstra, a fellow Rotarian. She said it was “awesome to see someone she knew after being away from home for so long.”

Anything else? Overall, Regan believed that studying abroad was a great eye opening experience that was challenging but worth it. Her parting thoughts: “I gained much more than I lost by missing a year of high school,” Wagner said.

Sam Shahghasemi

Destination: La Crescenta, California (north of LA next to Pasadena and Burbank)

Why he went: His dad got a job offer. His parents were “totally for leaving the cold,” and didn’t want to wait until he was in college to leave Minnesota, so they took the opportunity that was presented to them.

Missed most: His friends from home because the bonds he made in California just weren’t the same.

Missed least: Winter.

Experience coming back: “It didn’t feel like I left.” (The nice part about that? Any adjustment time equaled approximately zero minutes.)

Most memorable experience: He taught hockey to Squirt kids and the coach was “super Chinese” which is part of the reason he needed a teaching assistant. “He was caring, nice, and didn’t speak English well, so it was uplifting to know people are like that out there,” Shahghasemi said.

Anything else? Shahghasemi attended a school with about a 60% Korean population. Because of the drastic difference between his California school and Edina, culture shock was huge when adjusting to his new life in Cali. The lack of help from teachers he experienced there was also much different than amount of help offered at EHS.

Mackenzie Dykstra

Destination: Lake Como, Italy (outside Milan)

Why she went: Mackenzie had lived in Africa previously and didn’t have the greatest experience. She didn’t want to let that negative experience make her scared of the world, and she wanted to choose an adventure for herself and make the decision on her own instead of going with her family.

Missed most: “I missed coming to a place I was excited to be every day,” Dykstra said. She also missed the school spirit at EHS and her close family.

Missed least: “I didn’t miss being treated like I was sixteen,” Dykstra said. She had more freedom in Italy and had space to become who she wanted to be, not who she felt she should be.

Experience coming back: Mackenzie had a smooth transition thanks to her family, who acted like nothing had changed and picked up where they left off. She missed all the friends she’d made while abroad and struggled because she didn’t know when she’d see them again. “It was hard because I made the decision to miss people that much,” Dykstra said.

Most memorable experience: Her Rotary group took their last week-long trip to Capri and Mackenzie swam in the Mediterranean with people who had become her best friends. She met up with Regan which was weird for her because she knew the next time they’d see each other would be back in Edina.

Anything else? “I don’t know if I would recommend [Rotary] during junior year. I was sixteen, I was a baby. I don’t regret it at all, but I wonder if I would’ve had a different experience as a gap year,” Dykstra concluded.