Although it’s not sophomore Raegan Koenig’s first time visiting Lawrence, it is her first time attending school here.

During winter break, Raegan moved from Seneca, Kan., where she attended Nemaha Valley High School. On Jan. 7, she made the transition from attending a school of about 200 people to a school of about 1500 people.

Instead of having block schedule everyday like Nemaha Valley, Free State only has block twice a week, which has been an adjustment for Koenig. Here, she has to finish all of her homework for the next day.

Along with having block schedule everyday, Nemaha Valley had a 30 minute break after the first class of the day.

“There would be a short little period where we could eat snacks or just collect our stuff,” Raegan said, “Make sure we had everything, know where we were going and just chat with friends or get on our phones before we had to go to the next [class].”

But even with the break, Raegan wasn’t entirely happy at Nemaha Valley. She felt that she didn’t fit into the school’s closely-knit community, since she had only lived there for about two years after moving from Baileyville, Kan.

“It was more intimate because everybody knows everybody,” Raegan said, “But for me, I didn’t really know as many people, so it kind of put me as an outcast.”

Here, Raegan feels not knowing everybody doesn’t set her apart since no one knows everybody.

Along with fitting in better at Free State, Raegan says that Lawrence is the place for her.

“… ‘My kind of town’ really is the best way to describe it,” she said.

Raegan feels Lawrence’s pace suits her better than Seneca’s. Her love of art is another reason she feels at home in Lawrence.

“There’s a lot more in the city that I can look at to inspire myself,” Raegan said. “See the graffiti [and] the things that have been drawn out and around, things like that that really catch my eye.”

Jewelry teacher Don Stevanov marveled over Raegan’s artistic talent.

“From her first design, I see that she has excellent potential,” Stevanov said. “I see that she has a natural gift and skill…”

In Seneca, Raegan lived with her dad and younger brother. Now that she is in Lawrence, she lives with her mom and her older sister Darian.

Darian agrees that Lawrence is a good environment for Raegan.

“She’s very artsy, very outgoing, very crazy, and that’s basically what I feel Lawrence is,” Darian said. “It’s an artsy town… it’s just outgoing and full of life and full of energy, and that’s what Raegan is.”

Darian has also noticed that Lawrence has changed Raegan.

“I can just see her coming out of her shell and becoming who she is and who she will be,” Darian said. “… It’s gonna be really cool to see how she’s gonna grow and who she’s gonna become.”

Raegan says Lawrence has helped her express herself in a way that wasn’t possible in Seneca.

“I can be my own person better here,” Raegan said. “… At Seneca, there wasn’t a whole lot of variety, like I say ‘cookie cutter,’ so being different really separated you and made you feel bad.”