We are pleased to introduce you to the ICES Student of the Month for January, Olivia Ganbat from Stockholm, Sweden. Olivia lives with the Allen family in Mesa, Arizona and attends Westwood High School.
Olivia was nominated by her host mom, Jackie, who says, “Olivia is amazing!! Because of delays with her visa, Olivia was not able to arrive in Arizona until almost a month after school began. She did not let that hinder her in any way.
Olivia meeting host sister, Josie, for the first time
“Olivia worked hard and caught up in all of her classes by the end of the first quarter of school. Recently she had the highest test score in her American History class! Olivia also decided to join choir even though she has never sung in a choral group. She tried out for and made the honor choir. For the recent choir fundraiser Olivia was able to raise more money than most of the other students.”
Olivia says she enjoys participating in high school activities and especially loves the school spirit the U.S. is famous for. She says, “I grew up watching High School Musical so I kind of expected it to be like that.”
The Allens' fun welcome message to Olivia
Host mom, Jackie, confirmed that Olivia has fully embraced the concept of school spirit: “Olivia’s host sister, Josie, plays on their school varsity badminton team. Olivia cheered Josie and the team on at every single home game. She volunteered at the tournament and fundraiser that the team held and played in the just-for-fun doubles tournament when the season ended.
“For each home football game Olivia, Josie and their friends are all about team spirit. Olivia wears the school colors and paints her face and anyone else’s who will let her. She has enjoyed participating in Westwood High School’s homecoming week by attending the parade, football game and dance with Josie and many other friends.”
Not only has Olivia integrated into her American high school, but she has also become an authentic part of her host family, about whom she says, “They are amazing—I love them! My host family was strangers to me a year ago, but now they are family. I know I will come back to visit them, and hopefully they’ll come to visit me.”
Jackie agrees wholeheartedly. “Olivia has embraced our family in every way! She and Josie love to be together and are very close friends. She comes to “Mom” for advice. She is always willing to do chores. When the family gathers Olivia always participates in activities and games.
“One of my married daughters lives nearby with her husband and two young sons. Olivia enjoys going over to hang out with them and help with the boys because it helps her feel close to her baby brother and sister in Sweden.”
Youth exchange is all about cultural learning and sharing, which can be one of the most fun parts. “One fun thing that Olivia has done to contribute to family dinners is to make Swedish dishes to share with the rest of the family,” says Jackie. “Because her parents are originally from Mongolia, Olivia has a lot of Asian influences in her life and has also made Mongolian food for us.”
Olivia shares some profound lessons her exchange has taught her. “I had a very strong opinion about the political things going on here, but [I’ve learned] that just because you believe a certain way, it doesn’t always put you in a certain group. A lot of people that I really like, I realize that they don’t think the same as me politically, but it doesn’t make them bad people.”
When asked about the best experiences of her exchange so far, Olivia mentioned a trip to New York and a planned trip to Hawaii. But at the very top of her list is the big Sunday dinners that her host family hosts each week after church. Of the host family’s ten children, all but two live nearby and gather for dinner each week. “So we’re a pretty big group,” says Olivia.
All of us at ICES are proud of Olivia for embracing the experiences and life-lessons of her exchange, and we wish her well in the rest of her year. As the Student of the Month, Olivia will receive an ICES t-shirt, a $100 Visa gift card, and a letter of commendation from ICES President, John Crist.
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Is your exchange student amazing? Each month, ICES selects a student who embodies the spirit of youth exchange by being an awesome exchange student. Has your student done a beautiful job of integrating into their host family and community? Or found creative ways to share their culture? Or given back to the host community by volunteering? Maybe your student struggled at first but has worked hard to overcome challenges of their exchange. There are many ways ICES students excel, so if you feel your student is awesome, please nominate them and tell us why! Send us your student's full name, home country, and host city/state along with specific reasons and examples of why they are awesome. Send submissions to stories@icesusa.org |