Transitioning to a new school can be challenging, but for one NEIA student, the experience of coming here transformed not only her perspective on education, but her thoughts around belonging, a key pillar here at NEIA. Initially resistant, Hannah Grocki ’27, current NEIA 10th grader was introduced to NEIA by her mom, Erin Grocki, a Visual Arts Teacher here at NEIA, whose excitement for the school was contagious. “She could not stop talking about it,” Hannah shared. “It was the only thing she talked about—how great the school was, how different it was, and how much I would love it.”
Despite her mom’s excitement, the transition wasn’t easy for Hannah. “To be honest, I didn’t want to go here at first,” she admitted. Leaving her previous school midway through the academic year as a 7th grader was difficult to say the least. She initially expected NEIA to resemble her past schools but was met with a serious adjustment when it was nothing like she had ever experienced. “It was not like the other schools I went to, which was a huge adjustment that I had to go through which I also think a lot of other students had to go through as well”
One of Hannah’s first impressions of NEIA was shaped by the building itself. “When I joined, it was half finished and half not,” she explained. Entering through the unrenovated sections of what was once of Verizon training center, before stepping into the modernized spaces was striking, she explains, “I didn’t think it was a school at first. Coming from a public school with a low budget, it was very strange but very beautiful.”
Outside of the physical NEIA building, her adjustment was mainly affected by the people who made up the building. Initially, she resisted forming connections. “My first year, I tried really hard not to connect with anyone because I was upset about leaving my old school.” However, this mindset began to shift as she experienced the warmth of the NEIA community.
“I think the biggest thing was how nice everyone was. The teachers were so kind, and they cared about me and how I learned. That made me want to be here,” she said. Having faced challenges with bad teachers in the past, NEIA’s community was an exciting change of pace for Hannah. “After COVID, it was hard to want to learn. That passion was gone, but being here brought it back.”
A pivotal moment for Hannah in opening up to NEIA came when she bonded with her peers who seemed similar in feeling. “Charlotte Lyle was one of the first people I talked to. We played a game one day after school, did some BuzzFeed quizzes, and had a funny conversation about watermelon with Ayan, a school counselor. That was the moment I realized I could make friendships here.”
Safety also played a crucial role in Hannah’s sense of belonging at NEIA. Reflecting on COVID precautions, she noted, “I appreciated how conscious NEIA was about keeping everyone safe. At my old school, I never felt safe—not with the students, the teachers, or even the building. Here, I saw how they cared about protecting students and teachers and I thought it was really nice.”
As her time went on here at NEIA, Hannah’s initial resistance turned into love and appreciation. “My mom made me stay, but I think I realized that being here made me happy and made me want to learn, which is something public school did not do. I also came out of my shell here, and I wanted to grow as a person and in confidence, and this school had the ability to get me there and do that.”
Hannah’s story is just one of many that illustrates NEIA’s commitment to fostering a community of belonging and togetherness, where every student feels supported to thrive and follow their passions.
