Exchange student roars into student life at Bluffton High School
By JONATHAN SNYDER
Azim Bahronov, a foreign exchange student from Uzbekistan, has fully immersed himself in activities at Bluffton High School.
Bahronov participates in choir, cross country, and most notably, he is the official mascot for the Bluffton Tigers. Bahronov heard about the mascot opportunity from a classmate. While Bahronov showed interest, his already busy schedule kept him from fully committing to the role.
A trip to South Adams High School for a football game changed Bahronov’s mind, however. He saw how the mascot played a big role in getting a crowd involved in any athletic event.
Bahronov stated that his sudden acceptance comes from a desire to try new things while in the U.S., and embracing being out of his comfort zone.
“This is the year that I want to be out of my comfort zone and doing something new for me,” Bahronov said. “If I decided to do it, I will do it and I will finish it. I’m just doing my best to be involved in everything, because I didn’t have opportunity before in Uzbekistan.”
Bahronov said that he loves seeing new volunteering opportunities, clubs and different subjects formerly unavailable in his Uzbek curriculum. Bahronov added that these opportunities keep him occupied and looking forward to each new day in America.
“For every exchange student (you will be) missing your home country, being homesick, you will miss your friends, you will miss your family and all of this stuff,” Bahronov said. “But … we have to be engaged. If you’re engaged, you will not have enough time … to be homesick. If you’re engaged, you will have a lot of friends. This is something that keeps you happy.”
Bahronov has quickly adapted to life as the mascot. Bahronov gets joy out of seeing kids ask him for a high-five or a photo while he’s in the suit. Bahronov feels that giving kids a reason to smile and be happy is something important, even if they do not know who is in the suit.
Bahronov’s life at school has also been filled with joy from his classmates and teammates. Bahronov’s journey sees him downsizing from a school in Uzbekistan of slightly over 1,000 students at a time to a school with less than 500. Bucking any fears of unfamiliarity, Bahronov has grown close with his cross country teammates and others at the school.
“We make team dinners, we just hang out together or make some jokes, during running or just pushing ourselves and supporting each other,” Bahronov said. “ I didn’t love sports before, but now I just adore them. All kinds of sports because of the spirit of supporting your team. Even if you can’t run on the meets because of injuries, you can still support them (his teammates).”
jonathan@news-banner.com
