Foreign exchange student from Brazil growing up fast

Foreign exchange student Lorena Moraes takes a break between classes at Lee College.

Several times a month I walk the campus of Lee College in search of students to interview. That’s the fun part. The not-so-fun part is finding a place to park.

On this particular morning I opted for the auxiliary lot down the street. Good call, as I quickly found a spot.

Unfortunately, my two-minute walk to campus turned into a 15-minute wait because of a passing train. But it was worth the delay.

Lorena Moraes was looking at her phone when I approached her on the gazebo adjacent to the Rebel Roost snack bar. She was between classes, the best time to have a quick conversation.

I thought she might be attending IMPACT Early College High School. That’s where students take both high school and college classes to get a jump-start on their college degree.

It turns out that Lorena is 17 and already a full-time student at Lee College. She is in her second semester studying pre-engineering.

On her own

Lorena arrived in Baytown in May 2015 as a foreign exchange student. Her father, back home in Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, wanted her to experience different cultures and learn how to be on her own.

She has done just that while attending Ross S. Sterling High School, graduating last spring, then deciding to stay in Baytown to get her college basics out of the way.

It was scary at first for Lorena, who thought she was going to live somewhere in the northern section of the United States.

“Then I found out I was going to Texas. I was like, no, I don’t want to live on a farm. I don’t want to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning to take the bus to school. Please, don’t do that to me,” she recalled.

“But my dad told me it’s the place where you least expect something good to happen that sometimes gives you the most important opportunity of your life.”

It took Lorena a while to become used to her new surroundings and a new language. There was a moment early on when she wanted to “get back on that plane and go home.”

After getting to know her host family and making other friends, though, Lorena began to enjoy her new life.

“Now I love staying here,” she said. “Although, sometimes you’re homesick. You get lonely and miss your family, especially around the holidays.”

It took Lorena Moraes a while to become used to her new surroundings.

Family connections

Lorena’s father made the trip for her high school graduation. And she got to spend six weeks back home during the summer break.

But Lorena regrets not being there when her grandfather died several months ago. “Still, I was happy that he got to know I was in college already.”

Lorena worries that transferring to a four-year university may put a strain on the family’s finances. But if all goes well, she will continue her studies to become a chemical engineer.

During her time here, Lorena has grown up fast.

“It’s great, because I don’t like to lose too much time. I like to be doing a lot of different things and keeping busy,” she said.

As for following her father’s dream that she explore the world at a young age?

“I would tell anybody to be a foreign exchange student, because you grow up a lot faster,” Lorena said. “You’re like that kid living with your parents, and then you go to another country and you see what the rest of the world is really like. It’s been an amazing experience.”