News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Last year Jay Goddard and Stephanie Vanderlaan and their three children opened their home to a Shecana International Schools exchange student from Frankfurt, Germany. Grade 10 student Dennis Geyer spent 10 months attending Williams Lake Secondary School for the 2010/2011 year, making new friends and experiencing life in the Cariboo.

(Photo: Shecana exchange student Dennis Geyer is pictured here with members of his host family, Chelsea, Tianna and Damian Goddard.)

Stephanie said that one of the motivations for taking in an exchange student was a trip she took to Cuba with her daughter Chelsea on a school band trip. “It was such a great cultural opportunity and this was a chance to expand the experience,” she said.

Shecana International Schools provides opportunities for local families to experience worldwide culture right in their own home. All students who come to Canada have been carefully screened and are recommended by their teachers and their home schools.

Jay said that they got to read a range of profiles of potential exchange students, and that Dennis stood out because he had been around a lot of kids in his home and had some music in his background.  

They said that Dennis learned a lot during his time in Williams Lake. “He learned to live without high speed internet, how to shovel more than 30 feet of snow, how to use a lawn mower and weed eater, how to ski in the trees and how to do the dishes,” said 12-year-old Damian Goddard.  

The Goddards picked Dennis up from the Williams Lake airport at the end of August and brought him to the Frost Creek area where he would live with their family for the school year. Stephanie said that Dennis came from a big city and loved the rural countryside and the wildlife in the Cariboo.   

He played clarinet and joined the school band, travelling with them to Prince George, Edmonton and Vancouver. “We all went to a concert in Vancouver, to the West Edmonton Mall, to Vernon to visit family and skiing at Mt. Timothy and Silverstar,” Jay explained. “He also came along with us on a family trip to Mexico.”

Shecana International Schools’ mission is to provide an array of safe, positive, and educational travel opportunities for youth. Their philosophy is that international long-stay travel is a genuinely educational experience that contributes to positive personal development, international connections, opportunities and friendships, respect for other countries and cultures, and an awareness of Canada's place in the global community.

Stephanie said it was a great ‘English immersion’ program for Dennis, especially because Chelsea Goddard, fellow high school student, refused to allow him to pronounce English words with an accent. He also got to try his hand at running sound when Jay directed ‘Just So’ at the Glendale Theatre.

“He taught me a lot about computers, ‘techie’ stuff, how to drive a remote control car and how to play video games in German,” Damian continued. “He taught us how to program a cell phone.”

When Dennis’ family arrived from Germany to pick him up at the end of the school year, the Goddards extended their hospitality to show them some Cariboo highlights including the Williams Lake Stampede, a mountain bike expedition and a trip to Barkerville.

“His parents are both engineers and they took in an exchange student while Dennis was in Williams Lake,” Stephanie said. “He’s been in touch on Facebook and by phone since he left.  

“He became part of our family and we miss him.”

The Shecana experience was so positive for the Goddards that they’re doing it again, and their new exchange student, a Grade 11 girl from Munich, arrives this week.

“It’s a wonderful experience to have someone be so excited about our everyday life,” Stephanie said. “My kids learned that there are other languages and other cultures—this really broadened their horizens.”

For more information about the Shecana International Schools program visit www.shecana.ca

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