Schools around the country receive international students from all over the world every year. Granite Hills welcomed three international students for the 2024-25 school year in Hannah Forberg, Nina Pandilovska, and Eva Episheva.
Forberg is a junior from Germany. The programs that allowed her to become an international student are International Cultural Exchange-Germany (ICX) and Granite Hills’ Academy of Careers in Education (ACE) Pathway. ICX connected Forberg with the ACE Pathway, which took care of her housing in Porterville. In the beginning, Forberg faced some setbacks with her living arrangement. Because of the setbacks she faced, she was thinking of going back home. Luckily she was pleased with the amazing house family she was placed with.
“They are my second family,” Forberg said. I am glad I gave Porterville a second chance.”
Forberg’s experience with Porterville was a little rocky at the beginning, but she is having a lot of fun with her new school and the new friends she has made. Forberg said she is most likely headed back to Germany in February. The date has not been finalized, but she looks forward to returning home to see her family and friends.
Pandilovska is also a junior. She is from a small country in Europe called North Macedonia. The program that allowed Nina to become an international student is the Kennedy Luger Youth Exchange Program – also known as YES – which is a government-funded scholarship. The program allows only a small number of students from different countries to travel abroad each year. It took her lots of screenings, interviews, and exams before getting accepted. Pandilovska was randomly placed in Porterville.
“I was really curious about what American culture was like,” she said about studying abroad.
She also said she wanted to see how schools were here, and she wanted to experience it firsthand. She also just wanted to meet people and make new friends. Pandilovska is going to stay in Porterville until the end of the school year and then return home to North Macedonia. She is looking forward to going back home is seeing her friends and family.
Episheva is also a junior. She is originally from Kazakhstan which is located in Central Asia. The program that allowed her to travel to the United States is the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX). To be accepted into the program one has to win a competition. Episheva said she the reason why she wanted to join the program was because of her interest in cultures and learning about them.
“No books or movies can convey how people actually live,” Episheva said. “That’s why I wanted to experience this firsthand.”
Episheva came in with a flexible mindset because she did not know who she would meet or the type of people they would be.
Episheva will be here until the end of the year. She is looking forward to going back home and seeing her friends and family so she can tell them about her experiences.
“I have learned so much doing things out of my comfort,” she said. “I am grateful for the time I have here.”
