Anna Kaiser

Anna Kaiser has never stayed in one place long. Starting in middle school, she moved schools constantly. “For sixth grade I went to St. Clement, and then for seventh and eighth grade I went to North Kirkwood [Middle School],” Kaiser said. “I then went to Villa Duchesne for two years before transferring to Kirkwood.”

Kaiser said she feels more at home at Kirkwood than at Villa. She sees having both boys and girls in the school takes away some of the pressures faced in an all-girls school. “With all girls there is always so much drama. Everyone wants to pick on other girls to feel better about themselves,” Kaiser said. “[In] the different [friend] groups, [girls] would always switch around and leave people. It was not a good environment.”

While the overwhelming amount of drama contributed to her transfer to Kirkwood, a second major reason was her ongoing battle with anorexia and the medical treatment she received for it. Though Kaiser already attended two years of high school at Villa, she is currently repeating sophomore year at Kirkwood because she was in treatment for a large portion of last year.

“Coming [to Kirkwood] was a fresh start. I enjoy it because I am in a new school and a [different] grade.” While Kaiser does not think the treatment was exceedingly effective as she continues her fight each day, she does believe she gained perspective from going to treatment. “When I went to treatment, everyone had something that they were going through. [Treatment] impacted me in a very positive way.” Through the experiences Kaiser has encountered, she hopes to enter the psychological field after college.

Even though Kaiser has had a difficult time switching schools, she believes the most important thing is to engage with classmates. “It’s really hard when you first come to a new school because you don’t know anyone. I would say be open to opportunities and meeting new people. When I first went to Villa I was so isolated and didn’t talk to anyone. But once I started opening up to other people and engaging with other people, it helped me so much get to know the people there. School is so much harder if you don’t have friends.”