By DIANE A. RHODES
Carla Hartmann and Simone Olssen arrived in the United States last summer from different countries. By the time they returned home on June 1, both had became scholar-athletes at Hemet High School who excelled in the classroom and received academic and athletic letters for their efforts.
Sherry Mellott, international exchange coordinator with EF High School Exchange Year, helps students come to the United States to experience a high school year with a host family in the community.
Hartmann, 17, who stayed with the Lewis family in Idyllwild, joined the varsity lacrosse team that Hemet High offered for the first time this year. Olssen, 16, excelled at varsity track and field events, most notably the shot put and discus.
“My favorite experience has been attending an American high school,” said Hartmann, who is from Germany. “In the community, I attended church, which was really different from home, but much fun.”
Hartmann is excited to share with her German friends and family “how cool it is to live the American culture and speak English nonstop practically and also how much fun the school and the stuff around it is.”
She said she also will recommend the exchange program to others.
“It helps a lot in life; when you have problems, you learn to solve it yourself and you grow up in many other ways as well,” she said.
Olssen just completed 10th grade and said that in her home country of Denmark, school after that is optional.
“My family and I all love to travel, so for me to be able to get a whole year in another country was a dream,” she said. “My dad went to Australia when he was young, and he said it was amazing. He really improved his English, and that was one of my other reasons to go.”
Olssen lived in Hemet with the Thomsens, who were impressed at how well she adjusted to a school with a student body of about 2,500 when the entire island she comes from has only 4,000 residents.
“The entire year has been an amazing experience that I’ll never forget,” Olssen said. “I got involved in track and field and I tried out for softball and water polo; we don’t really play those sports in Denmark. I attended the Central Church of Christ in Hemet, and I also had the opportunity to help out in the Ramona play.”
She is excited to show everyone back home her letterman’s jacket because “sports at home has nothing to do with school.” She said dances are not the same as they are here, either.
Mellott explained that EF is a nonprofit organization with a mission to break down barriers in language, culture and geography. She loves seeing America through the eyes of the students she places and ones that she has hosted herself.
“It’s given me a new appreciation for our country, our communities and our schools; it’s brought so much global awareness to our family,” she said.
Mellott, of Riverside, said she is really proud of Hartmann and Olssen.
“The girls excelled academically while building friendships and participating in athletics,” she said. “I think they maximized their year to its fullest potential.”
Information: Sherry.Mellott@ efexchangeyear.org , 951-216-9840 or efexchangeyear.org
Simone Olssen, left, and Carla Hartmann, students with EF High School Exchange Year, spent the past school year at Hemet High, where they excelled in academics and sports.