International Students

Since 2003, Academy of Holy Angels has welcomed international students from around the world by intentionally attracting students from outside the United States.  Currently, 49 students from six countries attend AHA. Just as the number of international students has grown, so too have the multicultural programs and services that are offered to all AHA students.  The benefits have been far reaching: not only for our international students, as we prepare them for university studies and for life, but for our entire AHA community of staff, students and families.

As part of our long term vision, and as a way of providing the best university preparatory programs for all students, AHA is committed to increasing the enrollment of international students.

View this presentation in Chinese

Meet Zijun Zhang '17

Chinese student Zijun Zhang '17 has been involved in multiple activities at AHA, including trapshooting, theater and the Basketball team. He shared his experience with us regarding AHA teachers, getting involved and where he sees himself in 5 years. Read more.

Jimmy Tobyne '03, a strategy and partner development executive at Alibaba visits AHA.

"Without knowing a single word of Chinese, I had moved to Beijing my senior year of College," Jimmy Tobyne '03, AHA's 2015 Rising Star Young Alumni award winner told AHA students during a special convocation on Friday, November 20th, 2015. "Everything I've done since then has been because of what I learned on that trip."

International Students Work to Make a Real Difference in our World!

One of our senior students from China was moved to make a difference, working with one of our social studies teachers, Dave Marshak. Here is their story:

"I want to share a special project that one of our Chinese students has undertaken with me. Inspired by the convocation earlier this year, and motivated by lessons learned so far in Economics, Shuxin Yang has taken it upon herself to work with me on a social media education program aimed at the Chinese ivory market! This is... really cool!! We are sharing images via social media with an anti-ivory message, and Shuxin is translating them into Chinese! I am very proud of her. This is the generation that will save elephants and rhinos, or not, especially in China. She is an AHA hero!!!

Check out David J. Marshak Wildlife Photography on Facebook for their posts!

Celebrating the Chinese New Year!

It has become an annual tradition for AHA to host Chinese New Year dinner! Attendees include our students, faculty, staff, host families and friends.

The students lead a dumpling making station and watch the annual Chinese New Year's television broadcast/variety show throughout the celebration. 

Click here to see a video of the evening's celebration, created by Cindy Gu '14.

All AHA staff and students wear red to celebrate the Chinese New Year!  

This year's Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Thursday, 2/19. It's the year of the goat, and we'll be celebrating with food, games, music and fun. Our Mandarin teacher and her classes have been planning the event. Click here for our invitation.

Service Leadership over Easter weekend!

Service to our school and our community is part of the Holy Angels mission, and over Easter weekend, 13 of our international students spent their day off volunteering at Arc Village here in Richfield. They helped to raise $3,300 for their efforts and afterwards, enjoyed bowling at the Mall of America. Enjoy pictures of  their work and their play!

Senior does internship at Fox 9 News

Gu Xingdi "Cindy", Class of 2014, had the opportunity to introduce a news item on local news station, FOX 9, as part of her senior job shadowing project. Click here to see Cindy's debut on the 5 p.m. news She experienced first hand  behind the scenes production and in front of the camera news reporting. She will be attending New York University in the fall, 2014 to study Business/Music. Cindy is one of 11 graduating international students from China, Korea, Colombia, Vietnam, Norway and Venezuela. 

AHA international student steering committee (ISSC) oversees our international program
AHA’s international student steering committee of teachers and administrators works diligently to develop plans to meet the academic, social, and cultural needs of our foreign students not only when they first arrive in the US, but also during their time at Holy Angels. AHA is committed to providing international students with a rich and positive learning experience in the classroom and in the community. In addition, the steering committee plans programming and activities for AHA students which enhance their understanding of culture and global issues.

Home stay opportunities for international students

An important element of every international student’s experience in the US is where that student will live. AHA international students in the EPIC program live with “home stay” families in the nearby community.  Sometimes students live with relatives in the metro area and other times agencies that bring international students to Minnesota identify a home stay.  AHA cannot guarantee a homestay placement so the responsibility rests with the students and their agents and their local coordinators to find a suitable home stay arrangement.

Interested in attending AHA? Here are the steps from application to acceptance to enrollment!

We look forward to hearing from you! Please refer to the following instructions:

• The first step in applying to Holy Angels is to review our International Student Application Requirements Addendum for enrollment requirements to include academic transcripts, teacher recommendations, personal statement, family information, writing samples and language proficiency scores (TOEFL Jr., for example). 
• Please complete our International Student Application for Admission, and be sure to include all the required documentation, including a copy of the picture page of the student's passport. The Admissions Committee will review the complete application and conduct a Skype interview with the applicant before making an admissions decision. 
• Please contact Meg Angevine at mangevine@ahastars.org or at 612-798-0764 for specifics about tuition and fees.
• Minnesota State Law requires that all students enrolled in a Minnesota school be immunized against certain diseases. Students must provide proof of compliance with this law before the first day of attendance, allowing for specified exceptions. Here is a list of required immunizations which are effective September 1, 2015.
• International students must also supply proof of medical insurance before the start of school.
• In addition to tuition and fees, all students can expect to pay separately for uniforms, bus transportation (if it is required), lunch, and activities (if required).