You may only know Aral Tolan and Matt Böhm as two of the international boys on campus, but once you sit down and truly get to know them, you’ll find they are some of the most interesting guys at school. These young men come from places far different from Tucson. Aral is from Turkey and Matt is from the Czech Republic.
Aral has been attending The Gregory School since sixth grade and Matt arrived at the school last year as a junior, thanks to his cousin Michael Jansky. Matt describes Aral as “funny, helpful, and sweet” and Aral describes Matt as “funny, warmhearted, and sympathetic.” Many of their friends can always count on them for a laugh.
Both boys laughed when I asked them what they were known for around campus. “Definitely being Turkish,” Aral responded. “And second, for walking and wandering around at school and leaving class for thirty minutes.” Matt is similarly known as being “the boy from the Czech Republic.” He is also known for his DJing skills and making people laugh.
Like any other teenager, Matt and Aral enjoy hanging out with friends and family during the weekend. Aral and his family enjoy spending time with other members of the Turkish community and going to each other’s houses. A good portion of Matt and Aral’s Sundays are spent studying, doing homework, and preparing for school on Monday.
Aral's hobbies include soccer, cooking, and driving. Matt also enjoys playing soccer but one of his favorite hobbies is DJing. He hopes to DJ at one of the school dances before he leaves.
So far, senior year has been pretty calm for Aral and he has not experienced too much stress. Matt says that his senior year “is way easier than last year. Last year was very hard because of the language.” Now that his English has improved immensely, academics and communication with others has become a lot less difficult.
Both boys agreed that the interim week trip to Los Angeles has been the highlight of their school year so far, if not their whole high school experience. When asked what made the trip so enjoyable, Aral said, “It is just more fun going with friends versus family, and some people in our grade have been together since sixth grade so we are kind of like a small family.”
It was Matt’s time first time at Disneyland and Six Flags which made everything even more exciting. The trip left them with good memories and it was a great way to kick off their last year together.
Neither Matt nor Aral are completely sure what lies ahead of them once they graduate. Matt needs to complete three exams once he gets back home to the Czech Republic in order to graduate high school there. After that, he wants to go to college somewhere else in Europe, preferably Amsterdam. He is planning to study either dentistry or business and hopefully DJ on the side.
Aral is going to attend college in the states and major in political science. He has applied to several colleges and is currently waiting to hear from them. His top choice is either somewhere in New York or Colorado. After college, he definitely wants to move back to Turkey or somewhere in Europe. Like Matt, Amsterdam is his dream place to live.
Wherever their path takes them, Matt and Aral both have bright futures ahead of them. Graduating high school is just the beginning of their journey.
Written by Haley Evic, staff reporter