The best way to describe Melissa Kraatz, a junior here at Morro Bay High School, is hardworking, kind, and a joy to be around. Kraatz is a foreign exchange student spending the year here at MBHS. She comes all the way from Germany, and along with her, she has brought her kind, radiating self. Kraatz could not be more ecstatic for the year that lies ahead of her here at MBHS.

“I am super excited to spend my year here because I think this

and all the things I do throughout the day,” she said.

is a great opportunity to learn English and meet some nice people. I’ve already met some very friendly people, and yeah, the whole situation makes me super nervous and excited.”

Kraatz has involved herself with the tennis team, a sport that she has been playing since she was in Germany. This year is her seventh year ever playing tennis, and her immense talents and motivation will surely take her cruising through the year. 

“When I play tennis, I can forget negative thoughts around the whole day, and it just helps me feel calm,” Kraatz said.

Kraatz has decided to take on Journalism this year in order to perfect her writing as well as learning how to write texts in a neutral sense.

 “I love writing to express my feelings and emotions, so for me, when I write my diary, for example, I am able to organize my mind 

Journalism is not the only thing she is excited about here at an American high school. “Of course, Prom and Homecoming, all the dances, because we don’t have this in Germany, and it is a very special thing here in America,” Kraatz said.

After high school here in the United States, Kraatz is planning on going back to Germany to do two more years of schooling before she can attend a university there.  “It has always been like a small dream for me to study medicine, and yeah, probably go to university and travel a lot. And be happy and healthy,” she said.

Kraatz has always had a love for medicine, and pursuing something in the medical field feels like a dream come true to her. There is no doubt that Kraatz has a bright future ahead of her, and her beaming light of positivity and hard-working mindset will certainly help her accomplish whatever she sets her mind to.