Keyser High School is hosting three American Field Service students this year: Nicole Silva from Chile; Geoffrey Nizet from Belgium; and Andrea Maracci from Italy.
Keyser has been hosting exchange students and teachers with AFS since 1965.
“Keyser has the longest continuous AFS exchange program in the state of West Virginia,” said David Frederick, an affiliate of AFS.
Darlene  Frederick, president of the local Keyser chapter of AFS and hosting volunteer coordinator, said that every year she’s asked to set a goal concerning the number of students for the area.
“I set my goal at five for this area — and got ten,” said Darlene.
Silva, Nizet and Maracci met yesterday at the home of Silva’s host parents, Stacey and Mark Boggs, to have a picnic to celebrate Silva’s birthday.
“I thought this would be a good way for the kids to get to know each other and have some fun before school starts,” Stacey said.
All 10 students will meet in Deep Creek on Sunday for a welcome picnic and will continue to meet four times throughout the year for orientation.
“We have orientation meetings so that we can make sure the students are having a positive experience,” said Darlene.
Darlene added that students and host families meet for a pre-arrival, post arrival, mid-year, and pre-return orientation sessions.
“Last year, all the students travelled to New York to celebrate the 60th anniversary of AFS, and we hope to do another trip this year,” said Darlene.
American Field Service (AFS) was started by A. Piatt Andrew in 1947 to transport wounded French soldiers. Currently, nearly 13,000 participants from 80 countries participate in AFS to help build international understanding and peace.
“Being a part of AFS is an amazing experience,” Stacey said.