By Gracie Munro As the bright lights of Spartan field shine down, middle linebacker Joaquim “Kimmy” Vilahur-Tamayo, ‘27, steps out onto the playing field at Salem High for his first “home” game in America. Loud cheering and enthusiastic shouts came from the crowd of Raiders, fueling the rush of the mid-game adrenaline. Originally from Catalonia, Spain, Kimmy came to the United States for football opportunities at North Cross. He started playing football last year in his home country, and his coach told him about the exchange program and set him up at North Cross to study abroad and play for the team. For him, the hardest part of coming to America was having to learn a new language. “It was very different because I came here and everyone was speaking in English,” says Kimmy. “I was the only one speaking Spanish.” For college, he is planning to stay in the United States and hopefully play football as well. Kimmy had 23 tackles this year with an average of almost three per game, which is just a little bit higher than the national average. He says his favorite thing about the exchange program so far is that he gets to live in a dorm with other students, which he says is a lot of fun, because he gets to be around other people from school. He also likes the freedom of the dorm, and he spends most of his freetime downtown or at the gym to stay in shape for sports. The thing he misses most about Catalonia is the food. He says he likes it a lot better than the dorm food, and he likes to eat it when he goes home over breaks to visit family.
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Gracie MunroIn this picture (scroll to last article below) I am sailing near the Outer Banks with my best friend (You can see her hand in the left side of the picture). This was just over a week before orientation. This was my first time sailing with my family, because usually I sail a two person boat called a 420 with crew, Wilson. My name is Gracie Munro, and this year I am taking Journalism as one of my electives. This is my first time at a new school, and I'm very happy that I got picked for this class. I like drawing, sailing, and camping. I have lived in Roanoke my whole life but I love traveling to new places! Photo by my dad, Devon Munro. Archives
April 2024
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