5,164:

the number of miles from Zurich to Denver. 5,224: the number of miles from Prague to Denver. 5,164: the number of miles Sania Gandbhir ‘26 is from her family. 5,224: the distance between Vendy Petrinova ‘23 and her family. 

Most of the people who go to Monarch have known each other for years. If they haven’t, they will come to know them over the many years that they spend here. However, there are a few students who spend just one year, at Monarch, thousands of miles away from their family. 

Petrinova and Gandbhir arrived in August to spend a year living with a host family and attending Monarch High School. “I thought it would be a great experience,” Gandbhir said. “I wanted to be somewhere else, in another country, and see how people live.” 

Every year, Monarch receives a few exchange students from around the world. Many of them hope to improve their English and experience life in the United States, but along with that comes a lot of adjustments and challenges.

“High schools are a lot bigger here,” Petrinova said. “Even the big ones in the Czech Republic only have a couple of hundred people.” 

Like Petrinova, Gandbhir was shocked by the size of the school and classes. High school in Switzerland is similar to elementary school in the United States, “You’re always in the same classroom, and always with the same 20 people around you and you do everything with them,” Gandbhir said. 

A larger class and school size, along with different class periods meant that Gandbhir had the opportunity to interact with all kinds of students.

Although both Petrinova and Gandbhir have been meeting plenty of people and enjoying their time in the United States, the process of arranging their exchange year was far from simple. 

Gandbhir has been playing soccer for years, and although she wanted to do an exchange year, she was not ready to give up the sport.

“I didn’t want to stop playing,” she said. “So I had to go to a family that could bring me to soccer practices.” 

Playing at the competitive level requires a family who is willing to commit a great deal of time and energy. While doing the research for her exchange year, Gandbhir realized that unlike in Switzerland, the United States would require a car not only to go to and from soccer, but also to get most places.

“It’s kind of difficult because you need a car and someone to drive you,” Gandbhir said. “So we couldn’t just let the organization that does all the exchange stuff find a random family and hope it would work.” 

Instead of being paired with a random host family, Gandbhir’s father reached out to a cousin who lives in Colorado, and he was able to contact a local soccer club. The club director asked members of the team Gandbhir would be playing on if anyone would be willing to host an exchange student. 

Millie Barber ‘26, a Monarch student and member of the 2008 Academy Steel Boulder County United soccer team, and her family, agreed to host Gandbhir for the year. 

Unlike Gandbhir, Petrinova did not have to find a family to drive her to and from sports. She’s been very successful as a member of the Monarch cross-country team.

“I really like the cross country team, and just that there are lots of sports here,” Petrinova said. 

Not only does she run, Petrinova has been jump roping for many years, and even has an Instagram account dedicated to it.

“Now, I jump rope at the Louisville Rec Center,” she said. 

Monarch social studies teacher Matt Dicarlo guides the Japanese exchange program with our sister school in Tokyo. He highly encourages students to participate in an exchange program, citing his own experiences from high school.

“It’s a super life-changing experience to do a semester abroad or to live with an exchange family. It’s just eye-opening,” he said. “It changes your life.”