Analy High School

Many dream of traveling abroad and immersing themselves in different cultures, places, and experiences. However, this dream can be unattainable to most, especially high school students, due to high travel costs and difficulty coordinating such trips. That’s where programs such as the Rotary Club’s Youth Exchange Program, Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), AFS Intercultural Programs, and  Global Proficient Scholars Program (GPS) come into play. With the help of these programs and champions, such as Analy’s Social Science Department Chair, Rachel Ambrose, and David Mark Raymond of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise, we welcomed six exchange students from different countries to campus for the 2023-2024 school year. And we sent two of our students to study abroad!

Our six exchange students are Mathieu Coutant from France (AFS), Jamie De Mingo Capellan from Spain (CIEE), Veronique Van Weldam from the Netherlands (CIEE), Timur Wohl from Germany (Rotary), Mellisah Namutebi from Uganda (Rotary), and Nouval Akbar from Indonesia (Rotary). The two students we sent are Josie Porter, currently residing in Italy, and Ofelia Tufo, who is spending the year in Indonesia. Josie and Ofelia took advantage of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and will spend a year in their respective countries.

The six exchange students at Analy have been presenting to each of the ethnic and global studies classes and most recently presented to a wide variety of classes during Unity Week. These presentations have been eye-opening for our students and staff. They shed light on the cultural differences between the United States, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Uganda, and Indonesia regarding schools and social and urban landscapes.

Each student presentation provides an overview of key characteristics of their home country and some stark differences between their daily experiences and those of our students. For example, one of the biggest differences that stood out to our exchange students is the size of our campus, how open it is, and how we have sports integrated into our school. When Veronique presented, she mentioned how she missed riding her bike. She noted that the landscape where she lives in the Netherlands is much more walkable than in Sonoma County, and she is used to walking or biking virtually anywhere. When Mellisah presented, she shared that students in Uganda go to school for 12 hours a day and then go home to do their homework - our students were intrigued and shocked by the cultural differences between themselves and their new peers.

When Analy students inquire about studying abroad, usually to Leah Woody, our College and Career Center Coordinator, or Rachel Ambrose, our Social Science Department Chair, we first share the Rotary Youth Exchange Program with them due to our close relationship with the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise. Sebastopol has two Rotary Clubs. The Rotary Club of Sebastopol and the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise. Each club sponsors one inbound and outbound student annually to participate in their long-term (one-year) youth exchange program. Usually, we prefer students to travel abroad at the start of their junior year. 

The process is quick once we connect our students to the Rotary Clubs, usually to David Mark Raymond, in the first semester of their sophomore year. The Rotarians start with two interviews. First, with our student and then with them and their parents to determine whether they’d be a good fit for the program. During the interviews, the students list countries they most want to visit.

Once accepted into the Rotary program, they learn what country they’ll be sent to and have the rest of their sophomore year to learn that country's language, history, and cultural norms. They also meet other students who have gone through the program.

Recently, I connected with Ofelia Tufo, our student in Indonesia, who shared her experience. First, Ofelia is loving her time abroad. Her highlight has been traveling to different cities in Indonesia. “I have been to about 7 to 8 different cities during my stay, and each is so different than the last! My personal favorite is when I visited Bromo in East Java, which is a very famous volcano and it truly was spectacular. More amazing mentions are the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta and the Borobudur Buddhist Temple in Magelang.” Further, she noted that the Indonesian people are all super kind, have more school spirit than us, and the population is more homogeneous than Sebastopol's.

The Rotary Youth Exchange Program, Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), and AFS Intercultural Programs create life-changing experiences for young people to immerse themselves in different countries and cultures. One of the greatest barriers to these programs is cost and finding host families. 

Rachel Ambrose is working on both of these issues. She is dedicated to finding scholarships for students interested in studying abroad, as she’s noticed that many of the students afforded exchange opportunities from our Analy community are largely affluent. Ambrose has stated that in some cases, students can comp 100% of their trip expenses through scholarships! 

Another individual working towards making the Rotary Youth Exchange Program more accessible is David Mark Raymond of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise. David has been involved in the Youth Exchange Program for over 22 years! He’s observed that there has been a decline in families around the Sebastopol area willing to host exchange students in recent years. This is a problem for the Rotary program because each student who does the year-long exchange program has three different host families with whom they stay for three months. This allows students to live with different families and expand their view of American culture and society. 

David highly recommends being a host family. Over the years, he has personally hosted or was the counselor for 18 students and describes the incredible bonds he has cultivated with students. Many of which result in lifelong friendships and numerous trips abroad hosted by incredible families who share a common experience and knowledge of the culture and country.