ICES Student of the Month - October 2020

ICES would like to congratulate Eliška Loubrova for being selected as the Student of the Month for October!  Eliška is from the Czech Republic and is spending her exchange year in Muskegon, Michigan and attends Reeths-Puffer High School.  She was nominated by her host mom, Linda Cooper.

The Coopers signed up to host Eliška in March, before any of the COVID shutdowns had begun. They immediately began communicating through Messenger, and even through the shutdowns in the U.S. and the Czech Republic, they never gave up hope that Eliška’s exchange year would become a reality.

As the months passed, Eli continued preparing for her exchange. To help her “meet” her new family, she made a host family tree months before arriving.  She also practiced traditional Czech recipes so she would be able to cook for her host family and American friends. When Eli and her host family finally met at the airport, it felt like they knew each other. Many of the Coopers’ friends and family had been following Eli on Facebook since March and were ready to welcome her to the community. Eli arrived with many gifts from her country to give to her host family and Local Coordinator. 

Eli did a lot of research about what courses she wanted to take at her American high school, but also adapted quickly to the COVID schedule changes the school had to make.  She never had a single complaint, even when she faced some issues getting registered and getting her schedule from the school.  Says host mom, Linda, “She truly goes with the flow.”

On the first day of school, Eliška declined her host mom’s offer of a ride, opting instead to ride the big yellow school bus to have the full “American experience”.   Not only did she gain an experience that many American kids take for granted, but she also gained a new friend in her bus driver!

 COVID has definitely made things different this year, both at home and at school. There are limited spectators at sporting events, and few guests in the home. Eliška has adapted to everything and makes the best of it all.  Last week she invited her Local Coordinator and his wife to go to the football game to see her cheer—which they had a great time doing.

Eli has already been accepted to the Varsity tennis team for the spring season. To prepare, some of the girls practice with the boys team twice a week.  Although Eliška has never played on a competitive team before, the coach said she is one of the top players on the team.

 The Coopers got Eliška a pet bunny to fill the gap of leaving her bunny back home. Eliska has been very faithful to care for her, and also enjoys spoiling the family’s dogs by taking them for walks and buying them treats.

Host mom, Linda, sums it up by saying, “I could go on and on about this girl.  She is polite, smart, helpful, loving, generous and just overall everything anyone could have asked for in an exchange student.  We are proud and blessed to be her host family!” 

We are proud of Eliška and appreciate all she is doing to make the world a better place through youth exchange.  As the Student of the Month, Eliška will receive a $100 Visa gift card, an ICES t-shirt, and a congratulatory letter from ICES President, John Crist.