Stepping onto the Fresno Christian campus was an incredible experince that truly opened my eyes to the differences of public school versus private school. My name is Abigail Smurr and I am a senior at Bullard High School.

I was able to have the opportunity to shadow this year?s homecoming queen of Fresno Christian, Brooke Stobbe. I can?t express how ecstatic I was to see what it?s like to go to a private Christian school.

There are many differences I can point out when comparing Bullard to Fresno Christian but the main one was that Fresno Christian felt like home. The whole school was a strong community. All of the students seemed to get along well and it felt like they were all a team. People helped each other out in many ways from personal situations to academic situations.

Because the Christ aspect was involved, I believe many students had a much more positive aspect on school and were more motivated to do well in their studies.

It was the small things that gave FCS a sense of strong community, such as the students all knowing each others name. This is much different than Bullard because I mostly just know the students in my class. For instance, if a new student came to Bullard it would take me about a month to even notice that someone was new. But at Fresno Christian people appeared much more close nit and familiar with each other.

All the classes that I visited had teachers who seem exceptionally connected to their students. They left a distinctive impact on my visit because they were compassionate and warmhearted. All teachers came off as very engaged in getting to know me and I felt like they wanted to know me on a more personal level. The teachers also acted very respectful towards the students. Students were treated like adults and not the the high school students that they are.

The students got along well and I felt comforted by the fact that the school was small and everyone knew each other. At Bullard, it is impossible to know every student on the campus. I feel that the fellowship the students at Fresno Christian have is an enormous blessing. At my school, your friends are mainly just friends at school but I felt that at Fresno Christian, many students have strong relationships outside of school and on a deeper level.

The community and fellowship of Fresno Christian was inspiring, but the thing that intrigued me the most was having Christ as a main part of school. To be honest, that was really special for me. At public school, you are easily judged for expressing yourself and you feel completely vulnerable; sometimes a struggle to stay away from temptation.

Fresno Christian was such an inviting atmosphere due to the Christ aspect incorporated with the curriculum. For me, that was a new experience that made me joyous. Chapel was refreshing and made me not feel like a stranger but right at home. Not only was shadowing at Fresno Christian a fun time, it helped me gain a new perspective of the purpose I have at Bullard High. It gave me a chance to recognize how I can shine God?s light more at my home school. It was nice having a chapel because it was in the middle of the school and it felt like a break from working to be with God.

Bullard has always been a great school for me to express my leadership qualities and have a chance to engage in wonderful opportunities, but there are differences at each and every school. Through my visit at Fresno Christian, the positive environment I observed and having Christ as a main element of school left me in admiration.

For more opinions, read the Jan. 12 article, Hmong New Year: A chance to appreciate my culture.