Meet Our Students

I’m very sociable, funny, make friends quickly and get on well with other kids. I like animals a lot and have a black and white cat called Fiocco who keeps me company, but he is always after food! I don’t have brothers or sisters, but I have four cousins and I love to spend time with them. I’m very active and like playing all kind of sports, but I’m best at soccer. I’m very proud to be the captain and my role is midfielder. I also like other sports, such as tennis, skiing, swimming and gym and I would love to learn to play football and basketball in the US. I can’t wait to tell you about my culture and hear about yours.

Scholarship recipient Candela describes herself as athletic and friendly. She wants to share about Spanish traditions and a different point of view. Candela is very excited to go spend 10 months living in the USA, she is excited to begin communications with her host family once she is selected, she believes they will get along wonderfully, as she is "very responsible and I want to learn a lot about you!" Candela practices a lot of activities at school such as rhythmic gymnastics, theatre, and computing among other things. She has also been in Scouts for four years! Candela is on a volleyball club, where she has lots of friends who share the same passion as she does for volleyball. Her hobbies are photography and cooking different dishes like brownies, pizza, and Spanish omelets. Candela wants to thank you in advance for all your generosity and hospitality for hosting her!

My name is Alex and I live in town in the North of Spain. I consider myself a very creative and active person who is sociable and open-minded. I love the NBA and I always keep up with the news and games, my favorite player is Ja Morant and Prime D. Rose. I am on a basketball team with one of my best friends and I would love to be a part of an American team! I like to play video games and I like to draw. Once in America I would like to discover new music styles, movies and other activities. I want to thank you for accepting me into your family, I promise to make my stay enjoyable and help around the house. Thank you for choosing me, I am very excited to be part of your family!

I am Axelle and I have two brothers, I would like to have a sister as my mother and I are the only two girls in my home. I live in the countryside with a big garden for my animals. I have a lot of animals and I love taking care of them, I have a dog, two cats, some hens, eleven guinea pigs and a duck. I also love horses and I go horseback riding when I can. I have participated in sports as well as pole vaulting, high jumping and disc throwing. In my free time I like to do photography, it is a passion of mine. My dream would be to travel everywhere to take photos of landscapes and people. Thank you so much for reading my letter, I look forward to meeting you!

Jannick has enjoyed being a part of a boy scout team since the age of five. He enjoys all of the boy scout activities, especially organizing and participating in campouts, but he's recently found unexpected joy in the hobby of ballroom dancing. Jannick is enormously excited about sharing a year in a different culture, meeting new people, and getting to know a different way of living. Like his father and brother before him, he hopes to find a 'second family' during his exchange experience.

If I were to describe myself, I would say that I am a considerate person. I care a lot about others. I like to make people feel happy. My friends say I am an easy-going person. I have a great interest in music. That's why I love playing guitar and singing. I like to take pictures when I am on a trip or at a special event. My friends all compliment my photography skills, allowing me to gain a sense of achievement from photography. I also like playing ball games such as volleyball and basketball. One thing I love is snow. I had never seen snow before my family trip to Hokkaido, Japan, when I saw the snow outside, I soon ran out and stood for a long time! I've been eager to live and study in the U.S. for a very long time!

My name is Judith, I am a scholarship student and I live in a town in the southern-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. I like reading mystery books but in general I like all types of books. I also love listening to music and going to the theatre or museum with my parents too because I find it very engaging. I’ve practiced lots of sports along my life such as tennis, swimming, multisport, paddle and basketball, but my favorite ones are, hands down, basketball and paddle. They are very different but each one has its own things; for example, in basketball I’ve learnt that teamwork is very important and when you have a responsibility that it is not only for you but for your team, is very important that you fulfill it. I am wildly optimistic about my future, I would like to go to college to be a teacher of English. Therefore, I find this stunning experience very positive to improve my English and knowledge of your culture and habits. I am an easy going person, responsible and happy to learn and adapt myself to your daily routine, I can be helpful and I will do my best to make you comfortable with me. I’ll never be able to thank you enough all the things you are going to do for me, this is really moving and I will endlessly appreciate it. (KS)

Scholarship recipient Aidana comes from a small, but a busy city in Kyrgyzstan.. Volleyball is her favorite sport and she also spends most of her spare time volunteering. "It’s given me a chance to learn more about ecology, other cultures, gender equality, and helped me find new friends.” Aidana likes to spend time with her family, and go to the parks and mountains to get close to nature. She describes herself as open, communicative, and full of energy. “Last summer I tried yoga and dancing lessons and fell in love with both.” In America, she wants to explore lots of new things – one of them is pole vaulting! She also is excited to share her culture, traditions, and her favorite Kyrgyz meal “dymdama,” which she “bets you are going to like!"

Arianna is a tall girl who likes to eat healthy, balances meals (most of the time). She has played volleyball for seven years and currently plays on a competitive level in the Serie C category. Arianna describes herself as “pretty sporty.” She has been skiing every year since she was three years old. She loves going for walks and she swims to clear her mind. Arianna loves spending time with her family which consists of her parents, two brothers (one older, one younger) and two garden cats. She says the most important member of the family though is her Meliton breed dog. Arianna studies at a Scientific high school. Math is her favorite subject because she likes to solve problems. She wants to study medicine in the future. Arianna also enjoys photography. She carries an analog camera with her for when she sees a particular landscape or scene. Arianna is looking forward to live American traditions like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter! She cannot wait to share her culture too and to be a “real member of an American Family!”