LAYTON, Utah — Faviana Lopez, a 17-year-old student from Peru, is one of 350 foreign high school students who attended Layton Christian Academy this past school year. The school represents students from 50 different countries, making it the second-largest international boarding school in the U.S.
"The highlight for me is how my English has improved. I came with almost no English, communicating with people, communicating with teachers in class, with friends, with everyone," Lopez said.
Next school year, Lopez, who was granted a five-year student visa, will be the senior class president, but it won't be the same.
"I've made like best friends here that are not coming back," she added.
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That fact is not going over well with the head of the school, Chris Crowder. He believes the timing is no accident by the Trump administration to freeze interviews for international student visas to sort out how to implement social media vetting of students coming from other countries.
"...they targeted right at the moment where kids need to go to the embassy to get their visa to come in August. So they know this is gonna hurt schools," Crowder said.
Crowder added that the academy normally generates anywhere from $5 to $7 million in tuition on an annual basis, but with the likelihood of a lot of students not returning, adjustments at the school will have to be made.
"We will survive, but things may look different," he explained. "We will have to downsize if kids can't get here. And it will just have an impact on real people here in Layton — our employees, our people."
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And as for Lopez, she's bracing to graduate without a lot of her classmates.
"It's their dream to wear the cap and gown here, throw the cap, and say I graduated in the United States," Lopez said.
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