Foreign Exchange Student Spotlights

This year, Bettendorf High School has five foreign exchange students registered. These exchange students are Bruno Barros, Mathilde Damgaard, Simone Maggio, Ghazy Mahamid, and I Made Primasandya.

Bruno Barros is a sophomore from Jundiai, Brazil. He is involved in soccer, and his favorite class so far is Business Leadership. In one word, he describes Bettendorf as “fun.”

“I like the change of the weather in the United States. I’ve enjoyed seeing the snow in winter for the first time,” Barros said.

Mathilde Damgaard is a senior from Copenhagen, Denmark. She has been involved in cross country, winter play, and soccer.

She loves to travel and play sports. Her favorite classes have been Interpersonal Communications and Interior Design. In one word, she describes Bettendorf as “big.”

“I love how big the United States is, Denmark is much smaller, and people can drive themselves around here a lot more,” Damgaard said.

Simone Maggio is a senior from Rome, Italy. He has been involved in cross country, swimming, and tennis.

He loves to travel and take pictures. His favorite classes so far are Digital Photography and Fashion Design. He describes Bettendorf with the words “passion and pride.”

“I love Chicago with its large skyscrapers and sightseeing because it’s a big city like Rome,” Maggio said.

Ghazy Mahamid is a sophomore from Nazareth, Palestine. He is involved in show choir crew and the spring musical.

He is very interested in the American culture, and he especially enjoys the accessible food delivery. His favorite class has been Interpersonal Communications. In one word, he describes Bettendorf as “welcoming.”

“The United States has many things we don’t have back home, and I feel so blessed for this opportunity,” Mahamid said.

I Made Primasandya is a senior from Jakarta, Indonesia. He is involved in show choir, theatre, French club, Art club, Scholastic Bowl, and FCCLA.

His favorite class so far is Interpersonal Communications. He loves to sing, watch musicals, make music and draw in his free time. He plans to be a graphic designer or illustrator in the future. In one word, he describes Bettendorf as “unique.”

“This has been the journey that has led me to many wonderful people and families across the world that I never even thought I would be with, but I will surely miss so much when I go back to my home country,” Primasandya said.

These foreign exchange students will finish out the rest of the school year, then return to their home countries in June.