Walking around the Northwest hallways, senior Maya Alexander feels good to be back home.

Alexander spent about a semester at Blue Valley High after transferring out of Northwest during the middle of her junior year.

But the rest of her family was not moving.

Rather, Alexander needed a fresh routine from the repetitive lifestyle of high school.

“Nothing was happening here at Northwest,” Alexander said. “I was fine, I just wanted something different. I wanted to meet more people, see what life was like kind of still within the bubble, but still outside the bubble.”

For Alexander to leave Northwest for BVHS, she said she had to give a reason for switching schools. Even though she did not have a traditional reason like bullying or moving homes, Alexander was still able to transfer schools under her basis that she wanted a different lifestyle.

So Alexander decided within two days before winter break to make the change and leave her friends and Spirit Week behind.

“Part of me still feels kind of bad because it did happen so quickly,” Alexander said. “I didn’t have time to tell them.”

Senior Sunny Henein, a close friend of Alexander since middle school, said the news was hard to hear.

“I was incredibly upset to hear that Maya was leaving Northwest,” Henein said. “It was so shocking to hear that she was switching schools in such a short period of time.”

The transition to another Blue Valley school was supported by her family, but with some reluctance from Alexander’s older brother, Miles.

Her brother, Miles Alexander, graduated from Northwest in 2015, and is a sophomore at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. Miles was on the football team, and said he really enjoyed his time at Northwest and was comfortable at school.

Alexander said he took the news a little differently than their parents.

“[Miles] just loves this place, and he was the one who was just like ‘Are you kidding me?” Alexander said. “‘You’re gonna leave the best Blue Valley school; what’s wrong with you?’”

But it did not take long for him to come around too and be supportive of the idea.

“After she said that’s what she was doing, I didn’t really mind,” Miles said. “I told her, ‘OK, it’s cool. I hope it’s good. I hope you like it.’”

And going to a new school, she said, was challenging with very different traditions and customs.

“I missed spirit week so much, Alexander said. “I remember mentioning skits, and people had no idea what I was talking about.”

Making new friends was also difficult on Alexander, as she also had to say goodbye to her friends at Northwest.

But after spending a semester last year and the first two weeks of this year at BVHS, Alexander chose to come back to Northwest, with a quick turn-around.

In order to make the change, Alexander said she had to get her teachers and counselor at BVHS to sign a form and turn it in to District Office. Coming back to Northwest was not a difficult challenge, as Alexander said she was able to come back within four days of making a request.

The transition was so quick that Henein was not aware Alexander was coming back until they saw each other at a cross country meet.

“She said she was coming back to [Northwest] the following week and I couldn’t believe it,” Henein said. “I was just thrilled to hear she’s coming back.”

Returning to Northwest about two weeks into her senior year, Alexander is back on her home turf with people she has grown up with.

“I started as a Husky, so I guess it would be nice to finish as a Husky,” Alexander said. “I’m glad to be back.”