At the start of the fourth marking period, the community welcomed two exchange students: Luciana Pimiento ’27 and Layla du Plessis ’27. Both incoming Lower Mids, Pimiento and du Plessis moved into Redlich and Buehler, respectively.
Pimiento is joining the community from Colegio Anglo Colombiano in Bogota, Colombia, and du Plessis comes from St. Cyprian’s School in Cape Town, South Africa. Both of their schools participate in the Round Square program.
Round Square is an international network of over 200 schools that agree to support character education through the organization’s IDEALS: Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service. Hotchkiss joined Round Square in 1998.
Round Square offers an annual fall conference that students from the school attend. It is an expectation that each Round Square school will host and participate in exchanges beyond the annual international conference.
Mr. Dave Thompson, director of international programs, is the school’s Round Square representative. He said, “We’ve had students go to visit schools in Australia, India, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, and Kenya. We’ve had full-year students come through ASSIST, the Thai Scholars Program, and the English-Speaking Union, but the Round Square exchanges tend to come for one marking period.”
When students apply to for Round Square exchanges, they go through an in-depth application process. Pimiento was one of 120 people who applied to go on an exchange. Ultimately, only 20 were selected through a process that included a written application, interview, and teacher recommendations.
The number of students that go on exchanges and join the community as in-coming exchanges varies every year. Mr. Thompson said, “We have been struggling to accommodate exchanges recently, because the school has been over-enrolled pretty consistently, so there aren’t many open beds, and we can’t send out an exchange without taking a student in.”
Pimiento said, “I’ve always been interested in exchanges, because I love making friends, and I’ve always known I wanted to live abroad at some point. I didn’t have any expectations, because I knew how different the schools would be, but I’ve had a great time so far. I love how big and beautiful the campus is.”
Du Plessis said, “Schools in the U.S. seem a lot less strict than schools in Cape Town. At my school, we wear uniforms, can’t have nail polish, and there’s a lot of structure. It’s only my second week here, but I can’t express how grateful I am. The students have been so welcoming. It really surprised me, in the best way.”
