Although the vast majority of students live within twenty minutes of school, junior Moritz Riss had to cross an ocean from his home in Southwest Germany to attend Parkway West.

Riss is a member of the Youth For Understanding exchange program; he found out about the program through his sisters, who also were exchange students in the United States.

“My sisters were exchange students in Minneapolis and Indianapolis,” Riss said. “I have been to the United States before on holidays as well and wanted to get better at English.”

Although Riss has traveled to America in the past, it is still a significant change from his life in Germany.

“West is actually completely different from my school in Germany,” Riss said. “We have more classes in Germany and you don’t have the same classes everyday. You don’t have lunch in Germany either, you just have two long breaks.”

Along with the adjustment to high school in the United States, Riss also had to get used to living with a different family.

“The first few days, I had to get to know them, which was a little weird,” Riss said. “But now I’ve lived with them for more than a month and I feel like they’re my second family now.”

Riss plays on the junior varsity soccer team, which he says helped him make new friends and adjust faster to the environment.

“Having Moritz on the team has changed my perspective on foreign exchange students, because they seem really quiet and don’t talk much at first, but if you take the time to get to know them you find out how nice and funny they are,” junior and JV soccer player Bailey Silva said. “You can learn a lot from them.”

Sophomore Emma Wallace also learned about Germany from Riss, and they are going to this year’s homecoming together.

“Since they don’t have homecoming in Germany I mentioned something about what it was,” Wallace said. “He asked me formally after cheer practice with flowers and a poster in German, which was cool.”

Riss’ presence at West continues to inspire his peers, like Silva, to widen their perspectives and cultural experiences.

“I would definitely consider becoming a foreign exchange student now,” Silva said. “I think it would be a good experience to learn about other cultures.”