Many know that on September 28th, 2018, Whitney Young had their annual homecoming pep rally.  This was not the only special thing to happen this day.  Did you see a few unfamiliar faces playing in the band? Hear any weird voices while walking in the halls? Students that are participants in arts classes/programs here at Whitney were accompanied by shadows.  These were no ordinary shadows from other schools in Chicago. These shadows were exchange students from Sheldon College, located in Queensland, Australia.  This school is known for their exceptional fine arts, which is why they only shadowed art students.  When asked about their thoughts on having the students as company, students like Jeremiah Shade ‘21 said, “it was a super cool experience, I loved the cultural exchange and how they were here with an emphasis on dance and music. It’s rare we have something that’s not so sports centered also it was dope that they got to see a bit of our everyday life and our dancers, and vice versa.” During 6th period, those with shadows were blessed with an exceptional performance including all of the arts students from Sheldon College. Student Paris Sommerville ‘20 says, “I thought it was good thing for our school to participate in.  As a result, it enabled us to gain and observe a new international perspective.” I was lucky enough, being a part of the dance department, to have shadows with me. As the day went on, I learned a lot about the differences between Whitney and Sheldon. For example, the only language offered as a class at Sheldon is Mandarin so when we entered my Spanish 4 class it was a complete throw off to my shadows. While the experience was very exciting, it was also very educating, which isn’t always so fortunate. Student Martin Rusanov ‘20 says, “I asked them what the racial makeup is like where they live and they said they were not used to such a diverse environment and it’s interesting as it is completely different from what Chicagoans see everyday.”  Overall this was an opportunity many were glad that they took and something that would definitely be welcomed in the future.