This 2025-2026 school year Fair Grove High School has two foreign exchange students. Quin Nique Derler (11), who traveled to Fair Grove from Vienna, Austria, and Noah Mestmacher (11), who traveled from Hamburg, Germany.
Tonya Peck, the guidance counselor at Fair Grove High School, expressed, “It is always great to welcome a foreign exchange student to Fair Grove.”
Exchange students that come to school offer students the ability to gain cultural diversity and enrichment. Peck explained that exchange students also offer great educational opportunities for not just students, but for teachers as well.
Derler compared her school in Austria to school in America, “In Austria the students have their own classrooms and stay in there with the same 20-30 people for 4-8 years.” She also added that classes in Austria are spread over a week, not a day, so specific classes may only be held once or twice a week.
Derler noted, “I like that you can choose your classes and that the people are all very nice.” She also liked the addition of after school sports compared to her school in Austria which doesn’t have any sports teams, so they go home after school.
Mestmacher stated that his favorite part of going to Fair Grove, so far, has been the football games. In comparison, Mestmacher said his biggest challenges have been, “The food isn’t good and cross country is pretty hard.”
Derler talked about her biggest challenges since coming to America, “… reaching out to people and getting used to the new school and bad food.”
In Hamburg, Germany, Mestmacher explained, “School is very different, I only have 3 classes a day and we leave at 1:00pm. Also we learn 12 subjects from 5th grade throughout the rest of our school years”
Both Derler and Mestmacher are involved in the Cross Country team, and Derler expressed, “… I think it’s pretty fun and I like the team.” She also noted that one of her favorite things was that games and sports are practiced every day.”
Each school year, Fair Grove allows up to two exchange students, this included in the Fair Grove High School Handbook. Host families reach out to the High School office to check on the availability of having their exchange student enrolled, then they will begin the registration process, the same as every other student.
