Thirty-two students swapped places at this year’s SCA-sponsored student exchange with First Colonial High School. A student exchange allows students to travel to another high school, shadow him or her and learn about other schools in the district. 

“It’s important for students to get ideas from other schools about how they run their school, what events they’re doing, learn about other school cultures and just bring ideas back to their home school,” said student swap adviser Jennifer Leary.

Four students per grade participated in the exchange, and each participant was randomly assigned to their shadowing partner. 

“The student I shadowed was actually the First Colonial SCA president, so, being in SCA, I want to incorporate some of the things they do at First Colonial for SCA into Ocean Lakes’ SCA,” said junior Chloe Minnis.

Ocean Lakes’ participants traveled to First Colonial on March 23, 2023, a B day. As the Dolphins arrived, the First Colonial exchange participants greeted them and offered breakfast. Participants then met their partner and shadowed them for their first three blocks until returning to Ocean Lakes at 1:45 p.m.

“I met many types of people, non-academy and academy students. I met many students that weren’t just my age, but freshman through senior,” said sophomore Chloe McCall. “All the people I met were super nice. I can only hope that I will be provided with another opportunity like this sometime in the future.”

On March 24, 2023, an A day, Dolphins welcomed Patriots to the POD. The day began similarly to the previous exchange day where Patriots arrived, ate breakfast with their shadows, and then returned to their home school during fourth block.

“I loved my day at Ocean Lakes; I’m really sad it’s over. I had so much fun. The schools were really nice and open, and all of the teachers were super nice and made me have a good day,” said First Colonial sophomore Helen Murray. “As well as all the people I met, they were all super funny and friendly. I also liked how big it was, it made it feel like you were in a movie.”