Shepard, Goethe celebrate 30 years of exchange program

For three decades, students from Shepard High School and Johan Wolfgang Goethe Gymnasium have lived together, toured the other’s nation, attended sporting and cultural events, sampled cuisine, and built friendships.

And for educators, there’s hardly a better growth experience. This year, as Shepard welcomes a group of 16 students from Goethe, the schools celebrate the 30th anniversary of their exchange program.

Goethe teacher Nicole Stoebener knows the reward of exchange programs so well: When she attended Goethe as a student, she visited Shepard one year.

“This is a very special year. It’s our 30th anniversary. For our students, it’s a great opportunity to really get to know the life of the American family and experience life at an American high school. It’s a lot different than Germany,” said Stoebener, whose husband Fabian helped chaperone the German students.

Nicole Stoebener emphasized the relationships that develop as a result of the exchange.

“I still have contact with my host family from back then. It’s really a great thing to have friends in another country and experience its culture. It helps you become more open-minded and more tolerant. Plus you get to meet new and interesting people,” she said.

Shepard teacher Jennifer Fischer also understands the value of living in a foreign country. For a time she lived in Germany.

“It’s been such a great experience for our students to get the opportunity to learn about another culture,” said Fischer, who organized a huge fund raiser in January to help offset some of the expense of the exchange program.

Over the course of the next three weeks, the German students will live with Shepard families, attend classes, tour Chicago, attend a White Sox game, and in general live as Americans.

Retired Shepard teacher Nellie Hastings founded the exchange program in 1985.