18-year-old Sara Modig may sound like she is from the middle of the states, but she is part of the student exchange program from Sweden. She is staying in Nebraska for an entire year.

Theresa Henson, Westside’s director of school counseling, is in charge of the student exchange program at Westside. Westside is open to foreign exchange students from anywhere as long as they meet certain requirements, and the student must be staying with a host family that resides in the district. Westside has had three students travel to a different country through the exchange program, although more students come from other countries to Nebraska to attend Westside.

No matter what grade the student is in in their home country, the student is entered as a sophomore at Westside, because if they were a senior in their home country, the student wouldn’t be able to participate in the graduation ceremony. They are also not listed as a junior because then the student would have to participate in state testing.

Modig is a sophomore on paper, yet she still has upperclassman privileges.

“They have to go through a registration process like any other student,” Henson said. “The foreign students come over through some company, for example Council for Educational Travel USA.”

Modig is staying with a host family in the district that has kids in elementary school.

Modig decided to come to Nebraska because of her host family. When Modig applied she chose not to pick a certain state because she wanted a good host family. Modig thought it was more important to have a good relationship with her host family than to choose a state and then try to find a host family.

“I really liked my host family when I first found out that I would be staying with them.” Modig said. “I love how everyone is [into] sports.”

Through Modig’s company, Council for Education Travel USA, she is required to take an American history or government class and an American Literature class. In Sweden, Modig’s school also has a modular schedule system, similar to the one here at Westside. For high school in Sweden, the students have to apply to their school using their grades, then from there they pick a program of study.

“What I love about Westside, that we don’t have at my school in Sweden, is school spirit,” Modig said. “It seems that everyone is unified.”