Meet Our Students

Meet Lori, from central Japan. She is so excited to visit the United States as this will be her very first time abroad! She loves playing soft tennis, making sweets, cooking Japanese food like shogayaki (ginger pork), talking about music with friends, and going for relaxing walks. During her stay, she can’t wait to experience everyday American life and share Japanese culture (and treats!) with her host family. One day, she hopes to become a Japanese teacher. She is truly looking forward to meeting you!

Doniyor is a high school student from Uzbekistan who comes from a close and supportive family. He enjoys helping at home, spending time with his sisters, and relaxing with family movie nights or evening walks. He has a wide range of interests, especially math, law, economics, and diplomacy, and hopes to study pre-law or international relations in the future. Doniyor loves staying active through sports like soccer, tennis, volleyball, swimming, and chess — and he even played on a professional youth soccer team. When he’s not studying or playing sports, Doniyor enjoys filming and editing videos, exploring his city, traveling, and hanging out with friends. He also has a fun and creative hobby: inventing meals using only eggs and potatoes (six so far!), which has earned him jokes about opening a “potato-only restaurant.” He describes himself as positive, curious, and friendly, and he enjoys making people laugh and feel comfortable. Doniyor is excited to experience American culture, improve his English, and build meaningful connections during his exchange year.

Meet Fanny from France!  Fanny is extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to spend an exchange year in the U.S. It is one of her “biggest dreams” and she has been focused on making it happen since she was young. Spending an exchange year in the U.S. is what has motivated her to study English. Fanny explains that she is extremely grateful for her friends and family and values those relationships highly. Her friends describe her as someone who is very kind, thoughtful, funny, emotional and reliable.  One of her other dreams- going to an American football game and rooting for her team!    She also loves all animals especially her cats Bambou and Ficelle with whom she shares a deep connection.  Fanny loves to do crafts and dance (she is currently on a dance team). She also enjoys the self-discipline she gets from pushing herself at the gym and often clears her head by going for a run. She also enjoys all genres of music.  Baking is also one of Fanny’s hobbies, her specialty is cinnamon rolls because she loves the smell. Fanny is overflowing with energy and excitement; she is more than ready to make the most of her exchange year here in the US. 

Meet Ludovica, everyone calls her Ludo! She is 16 and lives in a popular tourist town in Italy. Ludo has one older sister who was also an exchange student. So, she had the great stories and memories from her sister and wants to create her own adventure and memories with an amazing host family here in the USA. Ludo is an athlete and has been playing volleyball since she was six years old. Her passion for the sport allows her to challenge herself and strive to do better. Ludo ski's each winter in Italy, has played tennis and done gymnastic in the past. It is clear that Ludo has such a creative imagination, especially with her drawings and her paintings. She has found that drawing clears her mind and opens up imaginary thinking. Ludo is a family orientated person, whether it be playing board games with everyone, completing puzzles, or winding down to watch with family a good old fashion horror movie. Ludo loves participating in volunteer opportunities. She understands kids and loves being able to create fun activities for them. Ludo has a soft heart for animals, she loves cats, dogs and even helps take care of horses. Becoming a doctor to save lives is her lifelong goal. She has a plan and wants to excel at it to be successful in the future. Ludo loves just being a funny and excited teenage girl. It is important to Ludo that she gets to be a part of her host family daily life. Whether it be hanging out at home playing Uno, helping cook or participating in any family outings. Ludo is very open minded with wanting to learn new cultures all while making new friends. Be a part of Ludo's future memories!

Meet Candela “Cande” from Spain! She describes herself as a as a caring, responsible, organized, funny and well-educated teenager. She comes from a close knit immediate and extended family. Her hobbies include padel (a sport similar to pickle ball) volleyball, skiing, dancing, reading, playing boardgames and watching movies. Cande recently started attending an international school where she is surrounded by classmates from all different cultures. She stated that she “fell in love with” the US when she visited with her family in order to pick her sister up from camp. She looks forward to learning about our culture, our educational system and participating in new activities through her school and host family. Cande writes, “I think I can bring a positive and caring attitude to your family….I would be very grateful to share my culture and traditions as well as learn from yours.”

Meet Arstenbek from Kyrgyzstan. He is a serious student with a fun side! He is excited to learn about American culture and wants to try baseball and American football. He enjoys hobbies like chess, Monopoly, and table tennis. He is a recipient of the prestigious FLEX scholarship for students that have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities. He spends weekdays at a boarding school where he is engaged in several interesting projects called GreenLand, Bilimbot, Olimpfund and Olimplearn. He describes the boarding school as an opportunity that he is extremely grateful to be a part of where he is learning cleanliness and respect for elders along with academic subjects. On weekends he is home with his family which includes his mother, father and ten-year-old brother. Helping out at home when he is there is very important to Arstanbek, he cleans, cooks and grocery shops for his family. He is also very passionate about his culture; he plays a traditional instrument called the Chopo-Chor. He also acknowledges what an amazing act of kindness hosting a student is and will truly appreciate this opportunity to its fullest.

Mizuki (Mizu) is a warm and motivated student from the countryside of Japan. She dreams of building connections between Japan and other countries and is excited to experience American culture while sharing her own. Mizuki is active in her school’s volunteer club, where she helps clean streets and cook meals for children in need. She loves singing with friends and enjoys both playing and watching sports, especially badminton, track and field, and baseball. Growing up surrounded by Hokkaido’s beautiful nature, cherry blossoms, and famous foods like ramen, Mizu brings kindness, curiosity, and a strong desire to become a meaningful part of her future host family.

Meet Indira an amazing student from Tajikistan!! She is so excited to meet her new host family for 2026/2027. Indira has worked incredibly hard to have this opportunity. She is ready to embrace this adventure of a new culture and becoming a part of your family. Her intelligence is a true gift; she loves gaining new learning opportunities' so much she is enrolled and taking higher level classes at the age of 16. Her wealth of knowledge gives her a great social aspect on life. She loves meeting people from all aspects of life and just getting to know who they are. She likes to cook and make desserts; she expresses that cooking is her LOVE language and wants to share her love for cooking with her new host family. Support family is important to Indira; she helps teach her younger brothers. She loves to volunteer her time in many different ways, through family or the community. Becoming a doctor is not just a dream but a way of living her life now for her future. She wants to help communities everywhere; you would be her first adventure in a new place. Help Indira grow with becoming a member of your family and host!!

Meet Adelaide from France where she lives with her father, mother, and younger brother, and their family bond is very strong, playing a “huge part” in her life. She describes herself as joyful, funny, and smart, though she can be a bit reserved when tired, responsible and somewhat competitive, Adelaide has a wide range of interests including: Tennis, Running, Dancing, Music, Singing, Pilates and going to the gym. Currently, she attends a boarding school with approximately 700 students. During her stay in the United States, she hopes to join a choir and the dance team. In her free time, she enjoys reading detective novels and watching detective and medical series. She has explored India and aspires to find a future career that allows her to uncover new places and have unique experiences. “So, to start these dreams, I want to start with the United States, because it’s iconic and full of diversity”.

Tihalina from France, writes “I want to discover the world not through books or screens, but through smiles, meetings, and everyday gestures.”  She and her family have adopted goats who they refer to as the “Queens of the garden”.  Besides loving her four-legged family members, she enjoys a close-knit home life with her two brothers and dad. She describes herself as independent and enthusiastic.  She has a wide range of interests including music, reading, photography and scouting which she enjoys due the respect for nature and teamwork that it fosters.  She is also very involved in sports and physical activity such as tennis, basketball, ping pong, track, dance, and roller skating.  She is also very dedicated to the philosophy of cultural exchange. She is extremely focused on bringing unique cultural experiences to the table-literally- she loves to cook crepes, kouign-amman and her family’s special recipe from the Southwest of France,  canelés Bordelais.  Tihalina also wants to learn about and take part in such American traditions as Thanksgiving.  Please consider opening your home to a student who is full of appreciation of other cultures and wishes to learn all she can as well as share the uniqueness of her own with you.