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Washington Evening Journal
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Brooklyn is home to 3 foreign exchange students
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
BROOKLYN — BGM is home to three international foreign exchange students this school year.
Lara Reinhardt, a junior, is staying with Joe, Stevie, Shadlee and Trinity Hazelwood.
Maryam Hadad and Krishna Pawar, both juniors, are staying with Franci McClenathan.
All three students are in Brooklyn through the AYUSA foreign exchange program.
McClenathan is a community representative with Academic Year in the USA, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco. She enjoys everything that comes with being part of the youth organization.
Reinhardt arrived in August and will be returning home Jan. 15. Hadad and Pawar arrived in September and will stay in Brooklyn till June.
Lara Reinhardt
At BGM, Reinhardt, a native of Germany, has been involved with football cheerleading and is currently playing basketball. She was part of the backstage crew for the BGM musical, “Cinderella,” assisting with hair and makeup.
Outside of school, Reinhardt has been involved in the Brooklyn Ruritan Club.
She has traveled with other AYUSA students to South Dakota and Chicago, and she went to Kansas City with her host family and attended a hockey game in Des Moines.
Reinhardt said she will miss a lot of things about Iowa. “My favorite was cheering at high school football games,” she said.
Maryam Hadad
Hadad, a native of Kenya, is currently playing basketball at BGM and was on the backstage crew for the BGM fall musical, “Cinderella.”
Outside of school, Hadad has attended Roots Youth Group activities and enjoys volunteering.
She has traveled with other AYUSA students to South Dakota and to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri. She plans to attend more scheduled events during the second semester.
What will Hadad remember about Iowa and Brooklyn? “Meeting new people who are so kind,” she said. “But it is so much colder here than I am used to in Kenya.”
Krishna Pawar
Pawar, a native of India, was on the backstage crew for the BGM fall musical, participates in FCCLA, and enjoys band, jazz band and pep band.
He plans to participate in track and baseball in the spring.
Outside of school, Pawar attends Roots Youth Group and volunteers, with the goal of reaching 100 hours before June.
Pawar has traveled with other AYUSA students to South Dakota and to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri. He plans to attend more scheduled events during the second semester.
Pawar liked seeing snow for the first time. “I am anxiously awaiting a large snowfall so I can build a snowman,” he said.
Hosting a foreign exchange student
AYUSA representative McClenathan said anyone may to apply to host a foreign exchange student.
“Whether you choose to commit to only eight weeks as a temporary arrival welcome family or 5-10 months as a permanent placement, the only real requirements are being at least 25 years old; being able to provide a comfy, safe home for them to live, sleep and study; providing three meals per day; arranging reliable rides to school and events; and being welcoming and understanding of different cultures,” said McClenathan.
“Students come with their own spending money and insurance.”
For more information, contact McClenathan at 641-891-2297.
