With the school year coming to a close, we’re excited to feature Junis from Germany in this month’s student spotlight! During her 2025–26 exchange year in Washington State, she has fully embraced life in the US, from getting involved in school activities to building meaningful friendships and becoming part of her host family’s everyday life. Read on as Junis looks back on the friendships, school life, and everyday moments that made her year so special.
What inspired you to become an exchange student?
I always wanted to see more of the world, not only by traveling to big cities but also by seeing the beauty of living in less popular areas. I was hoping to find a second home with families and friends I could forever rely on and visit later in life.
My family was also a big part of this. My mom did an au pair year in England, my aunt did a world tour, and my grandmother was one of the few in her generation to do an exchange to England. One day, after I met a friend who decided to do an exchange as well, I talked to my mom. She asked me why I don’t do an exchange year. We talked about it, and from then on, I started gathering information, looking into organizations, and all of a sudden, I was packing my suitcase and stressing about whether I could fit everything I wanted to take to my new home.
Tell us about your life with your host family! Do you have a favorite memory?
A lot of exchange students come hoping to find a second home, and I found that. I live with my host mom and dad and our two dogs, Herbie and Tilly. My host dad is a pilot, and my host mom is a flight attendant. Thanks to that, I had the opportunity to see different areas of the US. In our everyday life, we act like a normal family, having game and movie nights, walking the dogs, and cooking together.
A special trait of my family is that my host mum is a big football fan, and both my host mum and host dad are big hockey fans. Even though I was never interested in watching sports before, I also became a hockey fan and now I am loyal to the Kraken. My favorite memory was probably when I got my jersey from Grubauer, the Kraken goalie, signed.
What was the biggest adjustment when you first arrived in the US, and what helped you settle in?
At the beginning of my exchange year, I was a member of the volleyball team at my high school. Sports here definitely take a bigger part of a teenager’s life than in my home country. Being part of a team can give you a head start at making friends. It was also hard to adjust to feeling less independent because there isn’t a strong public transportation system.
Generally, Americans are a lot more open and friendly to strangers than I’m used to, and still, at the beginning, it was hard to go to a school where I wasn’t surrounded by my lifelong friends. The friends I found helped me through that time and made this year an experience I will always remember.
What advice do you have for future exchange students?
Always be open to new experiences and people and to try to make this year a time where you explore new things. At the same time, don’t stress about making the year perfect. Enjoy it and make it perfect for you. In the end, you will never be able to be “done”; there will always be something, and that is okay. Have fun!
Are you interested in making a student like Junis a part of your family? We are looking for American host families to welcome a student for the upcoming 2026-27 school year! Check out the profiles of our wonderful students! New profiles go online every Thursday!
