Along with the familiar faces of students returning to the high school, a few foreign faces have appeared in the mix. Several teens made the adventurous decision to leave their home country to experience a year as an American high school senior.
Here are the exchange students of the 2022-2023 school year:
Benjamin Mahmutovic
Home country: Montenegro
Favorite class: anatomy or psychology
Clubs and teams: art club and cross country
While in America, Mahmutovic is excited to make new connections and long-lasting friendships by meeting as many people as he can.
“I feel like there’s a dream [in other countries] to live in America, to spend time in an American high school,” Maghutovic said. “This opportunity is once in a lifetime. You have nothing to lose, and you have so much to gain and share. I love Americans more than I love America, and it’s been a great experience so far.”
Carolina Segovia
Home country: Spain
Favorite class: psychology
Clubs and teams: art club, stage crew and dance
Segovia was surprised by the number of extracurriculars available to high school students. She’s enjoying the time she spends immersing herself in American culture, by attending school spirit events.
“It’s so much more fun than compared to Spain,” Segovia said. “You have so many activities, so many football games. The whole thing [makes] you want to go to school more.”
Davide Minelli
Home country: Italy
Favorite class: criminalistics
Clubs and teams: soccer
Although he’s still adjusting to the size of the city and campus, Minelli is enjoying the atmosphere of the school. He’s delighted his hobbies are encouraged more so than in Italy.
“I went to the last football game with a GoPro. The people weren’t shocked about that. I like blogging, [and] back in Italy, usually the people watch you. [It’s] not good when you go out,” Minelli said. “Here, the people are all nice, and they don’t say anything.”
Etienne Pizzo
Home country: France
Favorite class: United States history
Clubs and teams: tennis and swimming
Pizzo is certain he made the right choice in becoming an exchange student. He’s not only experiencing new opportunities few are exposed to, he’s setting himself up for a brighter future.
“I think that being an exchange student can be difficult,” Pizzo said. “[However,] when you learn English in Europe, it’s big. When you want to get a job, they’re going to see that you speak English, and you will have more [of a] chance to get that job. So, I’ve always wanted to go to another country and spend time [there] and learn another language.”
Federica Raspo
Home country: Italy
Favorite class: Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry
Clubs and teams: cross country and possibly the art club
Raspo loves making lots of new friends in a new place. Although she gets homesick sometimes, she’s “super happy to be here and wants to try everything.”
“In Italy, I lived in a really small city, so I like to try experiences in other places,” Raspo said. “I [do] miss my Italian food and my family, my friends, but I think all the people here are really nice, and they try to make me feel at home. I appreciate it.”
Gabriella Lindh
Home country: Sweden
Favorite class: psychology
Clubs and teams: cheer
Having been to Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada with her parents from Sweden, Lindh had experienced American culture, but not specifically at Northview.
“I wanted to experience the American teenage life [by] making lots of friends and going to football games,” Lindh said.
Jacob Krebs
Home country: Germany
Favorite class: physical education
Clubs and teams: yearbook and soccer
Krebs was caught off-guard by the size of the high school at first, but he quickly found his footing. He loves how nice the people are, and how helpful his teachers are. Now, his biggest inconvenience is traveling.
“It’s a little bit difficult, because [I] can’t drive with a bus or train,” Krebs said. “In Germany, you can travel everywhere by the train. [Here,] you need a car for the most time.”
Joes Van den Hoek
Home country: Netherlands
Favorite class: psychology
Clubs and teams: football
Along with most first-time visitors, Van den Hoek was impressed with the number of positive experiences he’s had with his peers. He feels welcomed by his fellow students, his host parents and especially his teammates, with whom he spends the majority of his time with.
“When I started playing sports in Northview, I didn’t expect it to [take up] that much [time],” Van den Hoek said. “I thought it was maybe a couple days a week, not every single school day.”
Julia Albach
Home country: Germany
Favorite class: Spanish
Clubs and teams: cross country, ski and possibly dance or competitive cheer
Albach’s motivations for becoming an exchange student include seeing a different country but also the academic freedom. She likes being able to choose which classes she takes, something not offered in Germany. However, she didn’t anticipate the different cuisine.
“The food is really different [here,] but I don’t know if it’s a thing in my host family, or if it’s a completely different thing, that we often go out to eat,” Albach said.
Sofia Campanile
Home country: Italy
Favorite class: Adobe Illustrator
Clubs and teams: swimming, maybe tennis in the spring
Campanile also likes the courses she can pick from and the layout of the school. She enjoys having friendly teachers, and having fun with the new friends she’s made. For her, those are only a few of the reasons she became an exchange student.
“I wanted to challenge myself and learn new things,” Campanile said. “[And experience] lifestyles that may be better sometimes, and for [other] things it’s worse.”
Solveig Prodhomme
Home country: France
Favorite class: criminalistics
Clubs and teams: diving, maybe competitive cheer
An important part of the American experience for Prodhomme are the sports and the people she surrounds herself with. She was especially inspired by the community coming together for the Blackout football game, where money is raised to fight pediatric cancer.
“I’m really excited for prom and homecoming and every dance like that. We don’t have any of that in France,” Prodhomme said. “So that’s really exciting and [to] just see everything else along the year.”
Valeria Gonzalez
Home country: Mexico
Favorite class: zoology
Clubs and teams: golf and ski or basketball
Always with a bright smile in school, Gonzalez was stunned at first by the compliments and nice outgoing personality of random peers she comes across during the day. She admires the character of the environment.
“I mostly like the people here,” Gonzalez said. “Everyone is nice to everyone. They say ‘oh, you look so beautiful today’ or ‘oh, I like your outfit today’ when I’m just walking through the hallway.”
