Foreign exchange students join community
As senior Viktoria Komornikova walks through the doors of her new high school, she is greeted by a wave of unfamiliar faces. Backpack-clad students rush by, heading off to their lockers and classes, across a school much larger than the one she is familiar with, filled with more students than she has become accustomed to. While the thought of entering a new school is daunting enough for some, Komornikova deals with a set of challenges unknown to the majority of students attending Southwest. Komornikova is an exchange student from Slovakia who is not only new to the school, but the country. She is one of five foreign exchange students who have left their home country to join Southwest for one year.
“I decided [to come to America] because I wanted to try something new, learn English better and learn more about American culture,” Komornikova said. “I was nervous that I would not find friends because it’s a lot of new people and I don’t know anybody.”
Komornikova said she now feels accepted, and the initial cultural shock has been worth the experiences she has gained so far.
Each year, the school gains about five foreign exchange students, according to counselor Kristi Dixon. Dixon works closely with foreign exchange students and their host families. She said host families are found through various companies that help place students with families in America, and she is often able to help aid in finding reputable organizations. The school has put a cap on the potential number and only allows five each year, and that maximum number is often met.
“Students need to demonstrate that they are a good student, have a teacher recommendation, be financially committed to making the journey and emotionally committed to spending a whole year away from their family,” Dixon said.
She said older students typically deal with the transition better, so people around 17 and 18 are preferred. All five students this year were placed as seniors, though they may have been in different grades while in their country due to the different school systems.
She said extracurricular activities, including dances and sports, are often not available at foreign schools. Many of the new students enjoy the ability to experience the events that many American schools offer to high school students, and are aided by the senior class who she said does “a really good job at adopting our exchange kids.” The students are often surprised by the freedom they have while attending school, and enjoy the additional time they have outside of the school day and studying.
The five exchange students this year are Ondrej Cerny, Komornikova, Andrea lo Guidicci, Iskender Tavaldiev and Frank Yi. The students are from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Kyrgyzstan and China, respectively. The five have gone through this process described by Dixon and have made the decision to come to America for a variety of reasons, whether wanting to experience the culture, improve their English, or just take a break from their home country. Each has faced a different set of challenges and gained new experiences since arrival in America.
