Wooster High School bids farewell to exchange students

DUNLAP cover editor

During the 2022-2023 school year, WHS hosted three exchange students from all over the globe.

Giovanna Salvagnini, who is enrolled at WHS as a sophomore, comes to Wooster from Campinas, Brazil. Salvagnini chose to come to the United States because she traveled there many times and already knew some English.

Salvagnini says some of her best memories at WHS have been through the sports she joined.

“I played volleyball and now I’m playing lacrosse. I’ve never played lacrosse in my entire life so it was really fun to learn,” Salvagini said.

Salvagini says she is going to miss the friends she has made and the family she is staying with the most when she leaves.

Izumi Nishimatsu is staying with the Neilson family and is from Tokyo, Japan.

Nishimatsu says the best part of his exchange year was creating friendships throughout the year from another country.

Nishimatsu continues by saying that he is going to miss his friends the most when he leaves the United States and that is why he does not want to go back to Japan just yet.

Nishimatsu shares the teachers that have had the biggest impact on him during his time at WHS.

“I love Ms. Nussbaum [Art Dept. member] and Ms. Arnold [Family and Consumer Science Dept. member] because about a week after I started going to Wooster, my English was not good, so it was uncomfortable to talk and listen. But, they were so happy and kind so I remember I was happy to go to their classroom,” Nishimatsu.

Sujit Bhongale is from India and is enrolled as a senior at WHS. Bhongale is currently living with the Newberry-Yokleys.

Bhongale admits that while making friends was the biggest challenge of being an exchange student, the friends he has made and the teams he has played on have been the best part of his time in the United States. Bhongale advocates for other students to get out of Wooster and to participate in new experiences. “When I came over here, I learned that not a lot of students go out, they’re afraid of getting out of the house…I have a lot of ups and downs with the whole exchange thing but at the end of the day it’s always so fun,” Bhongale said. Bhongale advocates for other students to get out of the house and try new experiences where one can be independent.