Student of the Week: Amicay Farrer (Stars and Stripes Europe)
Moving to Spangdahlem High School in Germany for her senior year hasn’t stopped Amicay Farrer from making an impact.
“A model of dedication and excellence…her ability to balance challenging coursework with leadership roles is a testament to her work ethic and determination.”
— Spangdahlem High School
Farrer moved from Osan High School in South Korea where she was captain of her JROTC marksmanship and drill teams. At her new school in Germany, she has continued her commitment to JROTC in addition to being Vice President of the AP Scholars, member of the National Honor Society, representative at the weeklong fine arts Creative Connections program, and an active youth mentor.
She tried out for marksmanship in Korea on a whim and ended up being Team Captain, a role she has also taken on at Spangdahlem. She credits her JROTC instructor and marksmanship coach Col. Cobb with “helping us understand JROTC more and then also figuring out marksmanship and … the new techniques we can try and skills we can improve on in ways that are constructive.”
Farrer feels that DoDEA schools offer a safe environment and are full of other students in similar situations. It was especially difficult to transfer schools for her senior year, however, when she arrived at Spangdahlem there were peers also going through that experience and a support system to make the situation less stressful.
Staying involved in school has given her some incredible experiences. “We got to travel to Okinawa for our [Robotics Club] competition and that group was fantastic. I think that’s my favorite, one of my favorite, memories for sure from being in DoDEA.”
Farrer has moved many times and expressed that each time she was fearful of not making any friends. She felt that she was missing her old friends too much and potentially shutting off the opportunity for new connections. Her advice to other military-affiliated youth is to just understand that it isn’t going to be easy, “but it will get better. I have enjoyed every place I’ve been, even if at the start I kind of hated it for a little bit.”
“You get to meet amazing people you would get to meet otherwise.”
— Amicay Farrer
For Farrer, studying with a friend, talking through homework and ideas, and getting an outside perspective is the key to learning.
During her freshman year, Farrer took AP World History with Ms. Emory, and it has been her most favorite class during all of high school. With a teacher who was motivating, offering projects to learn from and a field trip to the National Museum in Seoul, she developed her love for history. “[Ms. Emory] inspired my love for history… I want to be like her, I want to be a teacher like she was.”
In the future, Farrer plans to attend Utah State University. She is excited to see what living in the U.S. is like and is looking forward to connect more with her extended family. Her goal is to get a history teaching degree, with plans to work in a museum or school and eventually making her way back to Europe or Asia.
As a senior, Farrer has taken advantage of her DoDEA experience by branching out into new sports: tennis in the fall and softball this coming spring.
Farrer has also had her share of negative experiences and times of feeling down, but she heard a quote that continues to inspire her to move forward. “Sometimes things change. Sometimes you don’t like it. But you’ve got it accept it. You’ve got to move on. And you’ve got to learn to love it.”
As a student of the week, she hopes to represent her school with integrity, honesty and encouragement to other students trying to do their best.
