Spanish Family Continues Educational Legacy In Levittown

LEVITTOWN, NY — A father, son and daughter from Spain all share a unique bond: they've all gone to school in Levittown.

All three attended Division Avenue High School through a foreign exchange program decades apart, with Sandra Magdalena Fernandez currently attending as a junior.

Fernandez is following in the footsteps of her brother, Pablo Magdalena Fernandez, and her father, Oscar Magdalena, who attended Division Avenue 31 years apart. Fernandez stays with her godfather, a close friend of her father who also hosted Pablo during the 2019-20 school year. She described her experience of being a student in Levittown as “the definition of the American dream.”

Like her father and brother before her, Fernandez said she has formed lifelong bonds. She has met and made friends with many of her peers, and one friend plans to visit her in Spain.

“I feel really lucky,” Fernandez said. “My friends have helped me open up more. It’s a hard thing to be here alone, but people take care of you here.”

Fernandez said she plans to study medicine after high school.