Coupeville Sports

Sophia Jebrail

Making friends in America.

Coupeville High School has an incredibly diverse cheerleader squad.

Sylvia Arnold’s final team boasts almost 40 girls, from seasoned veterans to green rookies. And one wild card.

Continuing a recent tradition, the Wolves have a foreign exchange student on the roster, with Brazilian Sophia Jebrail picking up the pom poms for the first time in her life.

Like Iris Ryckaert and Elena Jimenez Guerra a year ago, Jebrail is experiencing that most American of sports — small town high school football — up close and personal. And while it might be new, she’s loving what she’s seen.

“I have never been a cheerleader before, it’s so nice,” Jebrail said. “What made me decide to be a cheerleader is because in Brazil we don’t have cheerleaders, so that would be a new experience that I would not have another opportunity to be.”

Making the decision easier, her host family includes a fellow Wolf cheerleader in CHS junior Camilla Rische.

At home in Sao Paulo, Brazil (“I live in a city with about a hundred thousand people, a beautiful place called Sao Joao da Boa Vista”) the 17-year-old played volleyball and handball. She’s also considering picking up a new sport in America (“Maybe I’ll play tennis on spring time.”)

The youngest of two girls (her older sister is in college), Jebrail is adjusting to her new home, which was a surprise.

“My family chose me and here I am,” Jebrail said. “In Brazil I live in a bigger city than Oak Harbor, but I like here.

“I think it`s really nice to have the experience to live in a different country with a different culture,” she added. “US is a really nice country to live.”

Jebrail boasts a surprise talent (“I loooove to play video games!”) and mixes school with fun at home (“I like to hang out with friends, go on trips and, of course, go shopping”).

After her year abroad, she intends to return to Brazil and attend college to study business administration.

While she will miss her family and their support (“They encourage me to do everything that will be good for me in the future. Everything that I want to do that’s going to make me happy and help me grow, they will support me”), Jebrail has enjoyed the start of her journey into the unknown.

“It`s nice to live here,” she said. “Before I came I thought that I wouldn’t have many things to do, but I’m having a great time, always have something to do and people here are very kind.”