30 years across the Atlantic: Henrico-German student exchange celebrates milestone with art project

A newly erected wooden sculpture of sails outside of Mills E. Godwin High School now completes the art project commemorating 30 years of exchange between two communities separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

As Henrico County and Germany’s Saarpfalz-Kreis mark their partnership’s 30th anniversary, the student exchange continues to connect teenagers, teachers and host families across the Atlantic.

The anniversary also offers an opportunity to recognize the people who have sustained the program through changes in schools, staffing and travel.

Stefan Leonhard, a visiting German teacher who has been involved for more than 20 years, said the school exchange developed within the larger partnership between the two counties. His school previously visited other Henrico schools, including Douglas Freeman High School, before coming to Godwin in 2014.

During their two-week stay, German students live with local host families, attend classes and participate in activities throughout the region. American students also have the opportunity to travel to Germany, where they stay with their exchange partners during summer break.

German participants are in grades nine through 11. According to Leonhard, students in their final year are excluded because they would have graduated before they could host American students during the return visit.

This year’s activities included an overnight trip to Washington D.C, rafting on the lower James River, and a collaborative art project celebrating the anniversary. Students also attended homecoming, an opportunity organizers worked into the itinerary.

While the excursions introduce students to the region, shared activities give them time to build relationships. Leonhard recalled seeing that connection develop during the American students’ visit to Germany.

“When it came to the art projects, especially in Germany, when they were over last summer, that was really a moment when they gelled in a way,” Leonhard said.

The anniversary installation builds on that collaboration. Leonhard explained that the matching wooden wave at the German school symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean, linking the artwork in the two communities.

Creating time for the project meant adjusting this year’s schedule. Organizers balanced travel with time at Godwin so students could help prepare the installation for its unveiling.

That flexibility has also been necessary to sustain the exchange itself. Groups of about 20 students visited Godwin in 2014, 2016 and 2018, Leonhard said. The COVID-19 pandemic and changes in Godwin’s German teaching staff later interrupted the program.

When the exchange resumed, organizers had to rebuild interest among students who had not experienced the earlier visits.

“We have to restart it, relaunch it in a way once more, and I think we are on the right track, actually,” Leonhard said.

Students sharing their experiences with friends have become an important part of that effort. Each group can help introduce the program to classmates who might consider participating in a future exchange.

“I think most of the students enjoy that very much, and they will tell their friends, and probably next year or in two years’ time whenever, there are more to come,” Leonhard said.

Growing participation also depends on families willing to welcome visitors. Hosts provide students with a place to stay and include them in everyday activities, making family life a central part of the exchange. “You need host families, and you need students that are willing to come,” Leonhard explained.

Although earlier groups were larger, Leonhard said a group of 12 or 14 students can work well. The size depends on interest and the number of available hosts.

The relationships formed during those visits can continue long after students return home. Leonhard recalled a former exchange participant who was invited to a wedding by an exchange connection more than a decade later.

For the teachers, those lasting friendships reflect what students and families gain from opening their homes and sharing their routines. The exchange gives participants opportunities to reconsider familiar habits while getting to know people whose lives might otherwise remain distant.

Looking ahead, the visiting teachers hope to expand the partnership through activities involving sports, politics, student publications and social media. Continued support from educators, administrators and host families will help determine what comes next.

The wooden installations mark three decades of partnership on both sides of the Atlantic. The wedding invitation Leonhard remembers shows how that partnership can endure in a more personal way: a student welcomed into someone’s life for two weeks was still part of it more than a decade later.

– Aarya Mishra is a student at Godwin High School.