John Paul Makilya

Makilya has attended Weymouth High School only one year. But when the Kenyan immigrant walks down the school halls, greetings and smiles come his way as if he were born and raised here.

Makilya, 16, arrived at school in September after his family obtained a long-awaited visa to join Makilya's three older sisters in Massachusetts. He missed his home in Nairobi, was overwhelmed by the size of his new school, and struggled to adjust to an unfamiliar culture. But he resolved to make the best of it, and the affable teenager was soon thriving in his classes and making new friends.

``I decided I wasn't going to retreat into my corner and do my own thing," he said.

Bright and polished for his age, Makilya found community and purpose by tutoring underclassmen during his free time. ``If I can help get concepts across, it might stay with them for the rest of their life," he said. ``That makes me feel like I've accomplished something for the day. Everyone should have a chance to reach their potential."

Makilya also led a charitable campaign for African drought victims that raised $2,300 for the World Food Programme . He and some friends made a slide show detailing the impact of the drought and showed it throughout the school.

``That was the reality, and I felt we had to showcase it," he said. ``People were touched by this. They wanted to make a difference, even in a small way."

Outside of school, Makilya spent many afternoons baby-sitting his 2-year-old niece, Michelle, while her mother worked, and enjoyed sightseeing in Boston with his new friends.

The transition to American life wasn't without its rough spots. He felt somewhat detached from his peers, drawn more to church and BBC radio than MTV and ``The OC."

A self-described conservative Catholic, he recoiled at what he saw as America's cultural excesses. He found many students socially apathetic, more concerned with trips to the mall than world affairs. Some of the books he read in English class contained material he found inappropriate. Uninformed students asked him whether lions roamed freely through his hometown, and he had to explain patiently that Nairobi is a large urban capital.

He missed playing soccer in the street, eating his favorite coconut-laden Swahili foods, and his extended family and friends, whom he text-messages regularly. He plans to take premed courses at Tufts University and hopes to work for Doctors Without Borders.

``I want to keep true to my roots," he said.

Recalling how Makilya inquired about volunteer opportunities only days after starting school in a new country, his guidance counselor, Bonnie Miller , described his year in Weymouth as a ``wonderful gift." And 12th-grade dean Michael Lovecchio said Makilya was a rare student who made an impression on nearly everyone he met.

``It's unfortunate we didn't have him here longer," he said.