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Out of harmony with tuition needs Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Nadira Saban, a senior foreign exchange student from Austria studying at South Medford High School, is trying to raise the remaining tuition she needs to finish her year at South. By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Nadira Saban is a long way from home, and she would prefer to keep it that way. An Austrian citizen from Vienna - the famed city of classical music - 18-year-old Nadira enrolled at South Medford High in September 2001 because she was impressed with the music program. She is the only international student in the Medford district who has agreed to pay the $6,000 annual tuition, which must be paid through four installments. However, her mother lost her job in January because of downsizing, and Nadira - "Nadi" to her friends - still owes $1,500. Students from foreign countries generally don't have to pay tuition at Medford high schools. Most of them come to American schools under the foreign exchange student program, which means they stay with a host family and are only required to pay travel costs and their medical insurance. This year, Nadira Saban is the only student from another country who is paying the $6,000 tuition, required because of her visa. "We've only had two in the last five years," remembers Dan Zaklan, Medford's director of secondary education. The district allowed 16 exchange students - eight at each high school - to enroll this year. Over the years students from such countries France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Australia, Guatemala and Spain have entered the program. Host families provide a place to sleep, meals and allow the students to participate in the home life. If she doesn't settle her account, she could lose her student visa and not be able to graduate. A classically trained violinist, Nadira said she wanted to learn jazz and blues at South Medford. "When I saw the choir program, I said, 'Wow,' " she said. "When I saw the band program here, I said, 'Wow.' " Her parents supported her decision to come to the United States, but worried about her living in a city and being exposed to crime. When she told them about Medford, they finally agreed. "They wanted me to fulfill my hopes and dreams and to live out my experiences," she said. Hoping to be a jazz singer, Nadira plans to go to the Berklee College of Music in Boston this fall under a scholarship program. Eventually, she wants to teach music therapy to handicapped children. In the meantime, she has a $1,500 problem. Nadira, whose name means "unique" in Greek, is not like most exchange students who don't have to pay tuition. "I have a very unique situation," she said. Nadira, whose father is Greek and mother Macedonian, has a visa that limits her ability to work in the Untied States. To make her previous payment, she received $400 from the Applegate Christian Fellowship, $500 from some neighbors of her host family and the rest from her mother. Dan Zaklan, Medford schools director of secondary education, said, "We've done everything we can to help this girl." Even though the deadline for paying the last installment expired last week, Zaklan said, "The district is investigating options that would allow her to attend school. We will be keeping her in school while we investigate." By law, the district is constrained from waiving the tuition requirements, he said. "In the U.S., students cannot come here just to go to high school for free," he said. Nadira's host mother, Melissa Cox, said her own daughter, Lydia, is now in Germany as an exchange student. Cox said Nadira's personality is similar to her daughter's. "She's extremely outgoing and not afraid to ask questions," she said Jill Moxley, whose daughter has befriended the Austrian girl, said it could be possible for Nadira to offer guest performances at churches to raise money. Because of worries about her financial situation, Moxley said, "I was very concerned that things turn around for her and very quickly." For more information about Nadira, call Moxley at 608-6361. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.