There’s one item that really takes Gemma Kern back to her place of birth.

“Every time I see a Minnesota plate, I think, ‘Go back to Minnesota this is my home’,” Minnesota native Kern said.

Kern lived in Minnesota for the first 12-13 years of her life up until her sophomore year, when she and her family moved out to the “Last Best Place.”  Her initial impression during her first year of attending school in Montana at CMR was this is “bigger and better” than her school back in Minnesota.

“This is amazing,” Kern said. “People out here are so much better.”

She continues to thoroughly enjoy attending CMR.

“This year I’m actually looking forward to going to school,” she said.

Kern started to pick up on the friendliness of Montana on the drive over.

“We still had our Minnesota plates on and we would get waves from people,” Kern said.

Compared to the students she went to school with in Minnesota, Kern said the kids here aren’t as cliquey, which was a relief coming from the small town Milaca, with a population of around 200.

“The overall mood was doom and gloom,” Kern said.

Growing up with the same kids since kindergarten, Kern said she was more than eager to get out of Milaca.

“If I were to have spent one more year in Minnesota, I would have begged my mom to move,” Kern said.

Living in Montana has proven to be satisfactory for Kern.

“You’re not judged out here,” Kern said. “Every person you meet has a smile on their face.”