Meet Our Students

Meet Ginnie from Taiwan. Her friends call her Zin for short. She describes herself as a little shy at first, but once you get to know her, she can be very outgoing. Her close friends say that they assumed she is very quiet, but in reality, she is very talkative and makes them laugh a lot. When she is home, her family loves to spend Saturday dinner time together. She loves cooking with them and trying new dishes. Music and acting are her favorite hobbies. She is also a mass communication club member. This club's main activity is learning how to make videos, be an actor, and cooperate with a team. Her dream job is becoming a psychologist, actress, or a writer. Since she graduated from junior high school, she has dreamt about going to America. She loves watching American dramas, especially those about school life. She is fascinated by just how different American schools are from her own. She is very excited to experience American holidays such as Christmas and Halloween. These are some of the reasons she chose America. She really hopes to build an amazing relationship with her future host family.

Meet Emma! She is a student living in a small town in Spain. Emma enjoys meeting new people and is adaptable to life in other cultures outside of Spain. Her hobbies include dancing, art, listening to music, and spending time outside. Emma enjoys spending time with her family and values the relationship she has with them. She also enjoys making new friends. Emma has had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, which has sparked her desire to travel to new countries such as the U.S. She notes, “I want to be an exchange student because I think it’s going to be an amazing opportunity for me to learn everything about The U.S. because since I was little, I’ve always dreamed of going. I also think it’s going to be a unique experience full of adventures and full of joy.” She plans to attend school in the U.S. and gain new memories and experiences She can’t wait to meet you!

Ziba is a creative and ambitious student, eager to learn new languages and make friends around the world. She lives at home with her parents and two siblings in a large city in the norther region of Kazakhstan. Her hometown is very diverse and peaceful, with tall skyscrapers and unique buildings. She enjoys playing the dombra (national instrument), singing, and sports such as volleyball or table games. Her future plans are to become work in international relations or become a politician. She would like to engage in charity, organize philanthropic events, and be an activist to change the lives of poor people and care for the future generations. Being an exchange student will help her to share her culture with Americans while also learning our culture. She is also excited about the ability to explore and find new hobbies and having the opportunity to learn more about herself.

Meet Romane from France. Romane has an older brother and a younger sister. At home, she has a cat named Oreo. She is typically afraid of animals because she didn't grow up around them, but she loves cats. At school, her favorite subjects are English and biology. In biology, she likes to do experiments because it makes her feel like a scientist. She is part of her high school's sports association. They propose different sports like volleyball, climbing, swimming, and weight training. She is most passionate about climbing. She has also been dancing for eleven years (since she was three years old). When she is not playing sports, she is usually at home or with my friends. At home, she enjoys playing board games and watching movies with her family. On Friday nights, they always eat in the living room and watch a classic movie. She reads a lot, and her favorite book is "The Last Magician". Romane loves to travel. When she was little, her grandparents took her, her brother, and her sister to several European countries. This is where her passion to discover new places started. Going to the United States for a year has always been a dream of hers. She has been thinking about this opportunity for years. She is so excited to discover the American way of life.

Meet Paulin from France! He loves photography, filming, and editing. His camera is always close by. His dream is to become an independent filmmaker-editor for video adds or adventure documentaries. In addition to filming, he likes biking. His family biked for several days through France and Germany and camped each night in a tent. He also biked a week with the scouts camping and fixing food over a fire. It was a well-organized fun trip. He used to mountain bike but after many falls and fails he has backed off a bit. He enjoys swimming and has been learning the piano. His family had an American exchange student last year which inspired him even more to come to America. And this year he will spend a week with an English family improving his English. Paulin is very sociable, adaptable and makes friends easily. He is hoping his communication skills will greatly improve while being an exchange student. He is excited for this incredible adventure!

Say bonjour to Emile! He is a curious young man who loves new experiences and meeting new people. Emile has a HUGE passion for all sports and would like to be able to experience and learn more about American high school sports, especially baseball and American football. At his home Emile has some pets; a cat and two turtles. In the future, Emile would like to become an engineer or an architect and he thinks studying abroad for a year will help him achieve this dream. Emile can’t wait to build lifelong friendships and can’t wait to start his next adventure with your family!

Meet 15-year-old Gerard from Spain! He is a self-described friendly, kind and hardworking person. Who could resist such an introduction? He is very close to his family, including his mom, dad, and sister. They live in a town by the sea in the northeast part of Spain. They love to play board or video games, watch films, and go to the pool or the beach in the summer. Every Friday they like to watch a movie or series in English. Gerard also likes to hang out with his friends on the weekend. They play soccer, go bowling, and eat out. He’s also part of a group called “Esplai”, which he describes as “a kind of Boy Scouts organization.” Gerard has many hobbies including taekwondo and soccer. He has been practicing taekwondo since he was five years old and loves watching and playing soccer. He is a fan of Football Club Barcelona, and he likes watching matches with his dad. Gerard likes to stay active by doing things like volunteering and is hoping to be able to do the same in the US. He is excited about the opportunity to come to the US. Some of the things he is excited about are how we celebrate our holidays, more specifically Christmas and Halloween. Gerard is also excited about sharing his culture with you.

Meet Asset from Kazakhstan! Asset lives in a small town in the Almaty region. He studies at a state school and speaks Kazakh, Russian and English. Asset would describe himself as friendly, honest, sociable, ambitious and creative. His family is very friendly and positive. When Asset has free time, he helps his parents with housework: He prepares breakfast, washes dishes, and does some of the shopping for the household. As a child, he used to go to a sports club to do boxing, but later found that art is closer to his nature. He plays the dombra (a Kazakh national musical instrument), takes drama classes, and loves art reading. Asset participates in a lot of competitions in playing musical instruments, acting roles and the art reading. Asset is really interested in American culture, traditions, and the style of their lives. As a child, he watched a lot of American films about teenagers. From that time on, it has been a dream of his to visit the US. He really hopes his dream will come true and he will have a great year ahead with an amazing host family.

Listening to music as she enjoys a great cup of coffee at the local coffee shop would be a wonderful way for Bruna to spend part of her day! She visits a coffee shop near her home and is such a frequent customer that she has now become friends with many of the staff members! Music is one of her favorite pastimes. She calls listening to music, "her medicine." Bruna is very family oriented and loves doing activities together. She enjoys volunteering in her community and helping others. Volleyball is a sport of the whole family. Her yellow lab, her constant companion since she was 4, is an important part of the family. Bruna's favorite school subjects are economics and history. She also loves to learn languages and cultures. When not watching movies with friends, she likes to read. Bruna wants to learn about American culture and share her own. Won't you open your heart and home to Bruna for the 2023-2024 school year?

Meet Kiril, a scholarship winner from a large city in western Bulgaria. Kiril is very close to his parents and two sisters. They love spending time together and traveling to different countries. Kiril enjoys helping out around the house and helping his sister with homework. His own favorite subject is biology. In his free time, he also enjoys biking, climbing, skiing, and spending time with friends. Kiril and his friends like cooking and watching movies, as well as going to parks and cafes. Kiril looks forward to becoming more independent and serious during his exchange year, as well as adapting to new cultures and communication.