Hot on the heels of the 2020-2021 school year, in all its confusing strangeness, Lola Pierce has made landfall in Pelham. Fresh from Hong Kong, she carries with her memories of Golden Week, Hot Pot, and the diverse landscape of the area.  Having arrived only weeks ago, she’s making her return to Pelham academic life, even amidst the confusing aura of this school year.  

Having seen the Hong Kongese struggle for independence, she’s been fortunately removed enough to remain an observer.  She describes “…seven months of protests that disrupted the city and limited everything we did.”

The lush environment of Hong Kong came as a surprise to Pierce, as the city of Hong Kong itself makes up only about 20% of the total nation. The rest of it is high mountains and rolling hills of green, which she says are ideal for hiking.

Pierce’s global experiences went beyond her time in Hong Kong.

 “My family and I traveled to eleven countries and eighteen cities in the past three years,” Pierce said. From Cambodia, to Vietnam, from Japan to Singapore, she’s seen parts of the world some of us will only see on Google Maps.

Three years spent developing friendships and seeing great monoliths of cultural advancement have left her forever grateful for the opportunity. Three years spent seeing proud freedom fighters and impoverished nations through hard times have given her new exposure to the world. It’s safe to say Lola Pierce has seen much of what the world has to offer, and knows what it is to feed the passion for adventure that burns in all of us.