Transferring schools is not easy, especially during junior year of high school. Yet nine seniors transferred to Yutan last year and have now become a part of the Chieftain family.

Senior Alexis Polak was one student who transferred to Yutan during her junior year. One of the reasons Polak moved to Yutan was for academics.

“Yutan academics was one big thing that me and my family looked at online. Yutan’s scores were a lot better compared to Gretna’s. And academically the school was a lot better,” said Polak. 

For senior Kaeden Anderson, Yutan being a smaller school is what got his family’s attention. 

“I think my parents wanted a smaller school so my siblings could have a better experience growing up since Gretna was really grown,” said Anderson.

Even though his original school was large, it was still hard for Anderson to leave. 

“It wasn’t fun knowing I would have to leave a school that I’ve been at for 15 years,” said Anderson. 

Luckily, Polak had a friendly face to help her navigate the hallways.

“I knew one person, Shaylynn Campbell, and she was the one to convince me to come here. She told me how much she loved it here because of how small the school was and how it was like a family basically,” said Polak. “It was a very small junior class, so it was very easy to learn because there was a lot less people.”

Having a small class didn’t mean a small amount of support, however.

“I think it’s a lot better for me because I got a lot more people surrounding me in basketball. I could take part in basketball and stuff like that. I think that way it was better for me,” said Anderson.

Another unique thing Anderson noticed about Yutan is how involved the students are.  

“Everyone is so involved with everything. There’s no people that sit out in everything, so everyone participating is really cool to see,” said Anderson. 

Besides high participation, Polak also noticed a focus on academics.

“It seems like a lot of people try and focus on their studies a lot more and that they just care just overall,” said Polak.

After being at Yutan for two years, Polak does not regret her decision. 

“Yutan has affected me very much by being here. I have made many friends and I met Josh here,” said Polak. “I am very happy because I met people that I would have not met if I didn’t come here.”