Foreign exchange student Lisa Koslowski is this month’s Heartlandbeat Student of the Month. She is from a small town 40 miles west of Cologne Germany, but you wouldn’t realize that when talking to her. “My father works for an American company, and I attend a bi-lingual school back home so I guess that is why I don’t seem to have much of an accent,†said Lisa.
Being a foreign exchange student was something that Lisa always knew she wanted to do, and she hasn’t really experienced any homesicknesses. Through the EF (Education First) program, choosing your host family is entirely random. “It has been a perfect match,†said Lisa about her host family, JayDee and Wendy Janzen and their two children who live on a farm west of Henderson.
During her senior year at Heartland, she had many highlights and especially enjoyed joining the volleyball team and going out for track. Being involved in team sports got her acquainted and involved very quickly after arriving in Henderson. She also participated in FBLA and was glad to have experienced going to State in Lincoln earlier this spring. Other highlights for her were experiencing Homecoming, Winter Ball, Prom, and Graduation.
While here she has also been able to travel to many places including Chicago, Mount Rushmore, Indiana, Iowa, and Kansas. In March, she met her parents in Las Vegas where her father had a business meeting and they were able to visit the Grand Canyon as well. This past week she travelled to Montana with the Bethesda Youth Group to participate in a service mission trip. Like many foreign exchange students who attend Heartland, she does not want to go home yet and is already planning her return trip for next summer!
Back home in Germany, she has a horse and competes in jumping events. She has two younger brothers and lives in Mönchengladbach, a community of about 2,800. She will be returning home in June and admits, “It will be very hard to leave my friends here.†Congratulations and best wishes to Lisa for being this month’s Heartland Beat Student of the Month!
Written by Shannon Siebert
