Lakewood Ranch High home to many languages, cultures

Angel Markoski and Jules Telfort – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – At Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS), there are a wide range of bilingual Mustangs who speak languages including French, Spanish, Creole, Farsi, and more.

Growing up in a multilingual household poses many challenges for any kid, especially at a school age.

Sophomore Dewan Asmi was born in the US. Her family is from Bangladesh and she grew up speaking Bangla/Bengali at home.

Asmi, fluent in English and Bangla, and an honors student, said she sometimes feels the pressure of reconciling two cultures.

She said, “I wish I was even more fluent so it would be easier to talk to my family members in Bangladesh.”

For sophomore Parmis Cyrus, an American with Persian roots, being able to speak two languages can sometimes be confusing.

Cyrus said, “When I’m hanging out with friends, I’ll sometimes I’ll say something in Farsi, and then everybody will be like ‘What?’ And then I’ll have to repeat myself in English."

Many of these students were born abroad and have since moved U.S. in the past few years. For instance, junior Carlos Herrerra was born in Honduras and moved to the U.S. in 2018 with his younger sister, a freshman at LRHS, and his parents.

All three of these Mustangs fit in well with other students at school and they speak and understand the English language well.

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Herrerra was a part of the soccer team at LRHS, and he has made many great relationships with his teammates.

Even though both Mustangs speak English fluently, they still struggle with some schoolwork.

Herrerra said, “I used to get a lot of schoolwork that I would have trouble with, but I would never give up on in and I would eventually get it done with help from someone else.”

As a freshman, Nicole Herrerra has fit in very well and has made a lot of friendships around LRHS.

“I haven’t really had any trouble with English in school but when I do, I can count on my teachers to help me,” Herrerra said.