Meet Our NY Students

She Improved Her English and Her Survival Skills

A pre-law student at UnicenP in Brazil, Luanna Toniolo will someday represent the third generation of lawyers in her family. "My father, mother, aunt and grandmother are all lawyers," she says. She plans to specialize in economic law.

Luanna came to Rennert to fulfill a wish -- "My dream was to live in New York," she says - and as a practical way to make long-term progress in learning English in a short time. "I started my first English class when I was a child, but it was start, then finish, start and finish, then stop, stop, stop," she says. "I never had time for English because I studied classical ballet, too."

In addition to her English lessons, her itinerary in New York included visits to the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim. She took in the Broadway shows The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago and traveled to New Jersey to see Cats. Nightclubbing and dinner at a Brazilian restaurant also were on her packed schedule.

Despite the fun, living in New York without her family was a major challenge. It was hard being on her own for the first time in her life. "In Brazil, I live with my mother, my father, my grandmother and my brother," Luanna ays. "Here, I lived alone and I had to cook for myself, clean my home, wash my clothes. And everything is not easy."

She adds: "The first two weeks were very difficult. I was sad because I was without my mother and without my friends. But now it's better, I'm happier, and I have a lot of friends here. I know every place and can do many things. Now I don't want to go back, I want to stay here."