“I have marked academics as my nomination for Julia, however, she is far more than an academic student,” Host Dad Homer, who nominated Julia, said. “She is a 4.0 GPA student with a love for American History and Forensics. She excels in all subjects!”

Julia has received many accolades from teachers and staff at her school for her academic drive. She also scored highly on the Standards of Learning (SOL) test, Homer said, and her English has improved tenfold.

Outside of school, Julia has also participated in track, is a member of Young Life, and is active in the recycling program at her school.

“She is a bright spot in every one day that is lucky enough to speak with her,” Homer said. “As host parents, we are BLESSED to have her in our lives — she brings laughter and excitement to our home, and she has established herself as one of the COOL kids at Maurey HS. She has many friends that she will maintain contact with for years to come.”

Javier was nominated by his host family, the Halls.

When Javier first came to the U.S., he was with a temporary host family. The Hall family heard that he was looking for a permanent family at the end of November, and decided to take him in.

“Not only did he handle all of these transitions like a champ, he turned out to be quite a blessing for us as well!” Host Mom Tammy said. “He is excelling academically in all classes. His yearly grades range from a 98% to 101% and he is taking challenging classes. He has Honors English, Honors Algebra II, French, History, Chemistry, Physics, and Athletic Conditioning.”

In addition to his academic success, Javier has found ways to excel in new sports, including baseball, track, bowling, and a church volleyball league.

“He has truly become part of our family and part of our community,” Tammy said. “No matter what we are doing, he is right there ready to join in.”

“Maggie is an outstanding student!” said Jennifer Giroux, Magdalena’s Host Mom.

“She’s participated in the IB program at Headwaters School in Austin, TX and though English is her second language, she has outperformed most of her native English speaking classmates,” Jennifer said. “On one of her English oral IB exams, she was the only student in her class to earn the top grade of 7.”

Host Mom Rosa Jones nominated Adrian for this award.

As part of his school’s soccer team, Adrian made it to the third round of playoffs, and was a vital part of his team, leading in goals and assists for the year.

He also played on his school’s tennis team, where he put in countless hours to practice and maintained the third seed.

“He was recognized and admired by his coaches and teammates, and he will be truly missed next year,” Rosa said.

Host Mom Emalee Morley said that while Joy was passionate about dance before coming to the US, she didn’t have the training for the types of dance that her school’s team does.

When she joined the team, she put in extra hours and a significant amount of work outside of regular practice to perfect her techniques, and has caught up to her peers who had years of training, Emalee said.

She was even elevated to the competition squad due to her hard work and was able to help the team place at State, Regionals, and Nationals.

“Joy has made lifelong friendships in her teammates and is known for being encouraging and a hard worker,” Emalee said. “When the team didn’t place as well as they wanted at Nationals, Joy’s positive attitude carried the team through.”

Despite more than 25 hours of practice some weeks, Joy has managed to maintain good grades throughout the school year, and was even asked by her coaches to help choreograph dances for next year’s team.

“She has been an inspiration to her 4-year-old host sister who now wants to become a dancer,” Emalee said. “We are so proud of her!”

When the Vinton family secured Blanca as their exchange daughter early last year, she immediately made it clear that she wanted to participate in as many activities as possible when she was in America.

Months before school started, she applied to be a cheerleader, a dream she had for many years. She made the team for both football and basketball seasons and arrived a month early to participate in cheerleading camp and practices in advance of school starting in August.

Host Mom Lisa said Blanca jumped in immediately as a team player and made lots of new friends. She attended every game and was once named “Cheerleader of the Game!” and even sang the Star Spangled Banner before a basketball game.

“She did such an amazing job that she was asked to sing more times, even at other schools!” Lisa said. “Her voice is beautiful and she sang like she was very proud to be a part of our country.”

Once Cheer season was over, Blanca took part in several track and field events.

“Blanca has shown her commitment to not only working hard for herself to do well, but to being a strong team member and support of her school spirit,” Lisa said. “In return, she has gained self-confidence and self-worth, along with many friends and memories for years to come. We are very proud of her!”

Host Mom Kitrina Stratton says Tommy dove head-first into meeting people at his school, which is located in a very diverse area in North Minneapolis.

“He now has a great circle of friends that he does many activities with inside and outside of school,” Kitrina said. “He is the one who gathers all of these diverse individuals and creates outside activities with them.”

Throughout the school year, Tommaso has not only improved his English, but also his Spanish, which is another language he is learning.

 “Saana had to work very hard to open up and make friends,” said Host Mom Sara Fletcher, who nominated her. “She had to make a mindset change and started to put herself out there (sometimes going way out of her comfort zone), but it worked and she has several friends now and has made a couple lifelong friendships with some girls at school.”

Saana was also part of her school’s cross-country and track teams, and has made an impact on both staff (including her principal) and her classmates. She’s also been a sweet and devoted big sister to her 8 year old host sister, Leona, and has made an effort to be present and engaged with her entire host family, Sara said.

“We have made so many great memories,” Sara said. “I’m really proud of Saana and sad she has to go home soon, but so excited to keep in touch with her!”

“It is no exaggeration to say that David has become a part of our family,” said Host Mom Lori.

“He has become such an integral part of our family, our parish, and our lives,” Lori said.

Throughout the year, David has volunteered behind the altar at his host family’s church, and has become one of the main servers to help.

“We will greatly miss him when he returns to his family but will always have a place in our family for him,” Lori said.

Local Coordinator Shelbey Banks nominated Annina for going above and beyond her program service hour requirement.

“She had all of her community service hours completed within the first 3 months,” Shelbey said. “She continuously wanted to help in the concession stands or at church. I’m very proud of her!”

Local Coordinator Nichole Helms nominated Jessica for this award for her willingness and eagerness to jump in on volunteer work.

Nichole said Jessica served at a retirement/assisted living facility and helped with backstage sets for the musical at her host school, and she also helped with an iE event.

Ruben was nominated for his volunteer work across several organizations, including planting trees for American Forests and Earthforce Indy, preparing slideshows with senior citizens at a community group about their families and lives, and at his school selling concessions during swim tournaments.