Starting at Freedom High School as a senior, Emmanuel Lengor had different things to deal with than many other new students. Lengor spent the first 17 years of his life in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, and while the language, style of dress and many school subjects were the same, it was the little things he had to adjust to.
"Back home, the teachers move around after class," Lengor, whose family belongs to the Mende tribe, said. "Here the students move."
In Africa, the school day ended at 1 p.m., when Lengor would be able to go home and take a nap. At Freedom, he was in class until 4 p.m.
"There is also a lot more you have to do," he said. "You have to do the research. You have to do everything. Back home the teachers did most of the teaching."
While Lengor spent a lot of his time with his friends in his hometown of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, he had never experienced activities like pep rallies, homecoming and prom, things most teenagers take for granted.
"I felt like a celebrity," he said of attending his senior prom in May.
Now, Lengor will join his fellow seniors at Freedom High School’s first graduation ceremony, June 19. After graduation, Lengor plans to attend Northern Virginia Community College in Manassas, where he hopes to study the sciences.
"I learned from my parents," he said. "My mom is a nurse and my dad is doctor."
LENGOR ARRIVED IN the United States July 10, 2006, after an effort by his mother, Sarah Amara, to get him a green card.
"The first time I went for his immigration papers, [9-11] happened and everything got cancelled," Amara, a nurse in Prince William, said. "It took about five years to get the paperwork done."
Amara moved to the United States 11 years ago and when Lengor arrived alone at the airport last summer he had not seen his mother for over a decade.
"I was always longing for that," Lengor said.
Amara said she had planned to bring her son to the United States from the first moment she immigrated.
"But it’s not easy to bring someone back from home," she said.
CIVIL WAR BEGAN in Sierra Leone in 1991 and continued until 2002, breaking down many of the government channels people need to immigrate. During the war, the American Embassy was closed, forcing those seeking green cards to travel to other countries for their immigration interviews. Lengor traveled to Senegal to do his visa interviews.
"It was a great reunion when he finally got here," Amara said.
When talking about his life in Africa, Emmanuel chooses not to talk about details of the war. He mentions only briefly that the family lost contact with his father, Morie Lengor, during the war. Instead, Lengor focuses on the people he loved, who are still back in the country he still calls home.
"I was always with my family and they were always around to guide me with my education and in my religious life," he said.
RAISED IN A Christian home, religion has always played a large role in Lengor’s life. Christians and Muslims dominate Sierra Leone’s religious life, Lengor said, and many people relied on their faith during the war. Lengor also found himself turning to his Christianity to bring him through the decade of war.
"When the war finally reached Freetown, things were very bad," he said. "It just took faith to believe that you were going to stay alive. All hope was lost and so we had to put our faith in God."
Amara agreed that all of Sierra Leone became more religious as a result of the war, but said Christianity has always played a large role in her son’s life.
Even before the war, Lengor’s family was devout Christians, something his mother credit’s for Lengor’s positive outlook and respectful nature.
"He’s a focused boy," she said. "Sometimes you go through things with teenagers, but even when he was back home he was wonderful."
LENGOR IS grateful for the opportunities he has gotten since arriving in the United States, from becoming familiar with computers and technology to being in a school system that encourages and helps students reach whatever goals they set.
"I like the American system," he said. "People are there to help you to do whatever career you want."
While Lengor is set in his decision to study the sciences, his personal goals are simple. He wants to be a good role model for himself and his 4-year-old sister, Nyajay, whom he met only when he arrived in Virginia.
"I believe I have to work hard and be the best I can be," he said.