Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Shawnee Mission West's online student newspaper

smwest.com

Photo Of The Week

photo by Malcom Luna

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From Kenya To Kansas

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Nick Baselle, senior, has been living in Kansas for a little more than a year. In January of 2010, Baselle made the trek from Kenya to Kansas City, where his mom had been working as a nurse for around ten years. In order to be closer to family, Baselle made the move, and has had many new experiences in the United States.

“Africa was pretty good, but also tough. I went to a boarding school, and I had to wake up at four every morning to go to school,” Baselle said.

The change of culture (and obviously change from Swahili to English) in Kansas took a while to get used to, but Baselle made friends quickly.

“People are friendly here,” Baselle said.

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One of the main things Baselle noticed was the change in climate – or simply put, the new appearance of snow in Kansas.

“It snows too much here, and it’s really cold,” Baselle said.

In Africa, Baselle played rugby, but since Kansas doesn’t have a high school rugby team, he decided to play soccer in the fall and run track in the spring. In 2010, Baselle’s first year running track, he made quick strides and soon became a member of the Varsity squad.

Now, in his senior year, Baselle is recognized as one of the best athletes on the track team, and even ran a team-best 2:00 in an 800m race- a time that hasn’t been reached at West in several years.

“I am still looking at colleges, but some of my choices are Pittsburg State, KU and K-State. If I get a scholarship, I want to run track in college,” Baselle said. Baselle plans on pursuing civil engineering or physical therapy in college.

Currently, Baselle’s main activity is tearing it up around the track and dominating meets, but after college, Baselle plans on returning to Africa and reuniting with his hometown of Kenya.

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From Kenya To Kansas