Gothenburg Substantial College was fortunate ample to count a international trade college student amid their university student human body and Class of 2021, but if you check with Hugo Morau, he would say he was the blessed one. In the midst of a international pandemic, Hugo wasn’t certain the trade software was an chance he would get this previous yr.
Hugo is from Holleiken, Sweden – a place that his host mothers and fathers right here, Lisa and Brad Jorgenson – are extremely acquainted with. Lisa was an trade student to Sweden when she attended Gothenburg High Faculty through the 1989-90 faculty year. Her daughter, Madeline, adopted in individuals exact footsteps and is currently in Sweden through an trade application – the first GHS college student to do so given that her mom’s course. Nevertheless, the community Rotary club has hosted several college students for the duration of that time.
It was that application that Hugo was in the beginning enrolled in. Having said that, when Rotary canceled the program for the 2020-21 university calendar year owing to Covid, Hugo and his loved ones decided to get a distinctive route. He used through an trade application regarded as STS and was assigned to a university in Washington point out. Ironically, Hugo’s household was supposed to be the host spouse and children in Sweden this year for Madeline.
“We had currently gotten to know them via conversing with them, so we ended up signing up with this other group as nicely, and hosted Hugo for this year. So relatively than his spouse and children becoming the host family for Madeline, we ended up staying the host family members for Hugo,” Lisa stated. “So that was a genuinely awesome deal.”
“It’s been a very special calendar year,” mentioned Hugo as he dealt with the Gothenburg Rotary Club about his knowledge. “Not many trade students can say they had been right here through a U.S. election and a international pandemic. It will certainly be memorable for me.”
Even through the pandemic, having said that, Hugo explained there have been many points he was nonetheless capable to enjoy through his yr below. A single of those people was golfing, in which he was a lettering member of the GHS boys varsity golf group and attained the Greatest Teammate Award as voted on by his friends. “I’ve been carrying out a whole lot of that, as it is a single of the couple of sports activities I truly can do,” Hugo said with a chuckle. “We really do not genuinely have that in Sweden – a golf staff that is part of college.” Hugo also participated in the A person Act Participate in at GHS this calendar year as part of the stage crew.
He shared that there is a big distinction in the college systems amongst the two international locations. “High college in Sweden is structured more like university. We have far more block schedules and extended classes, so that was a very little perplexing at first,” he reported. “We also have to apply to high faculty in ninth quality. So it is been a tiny unique right here to see students who have been going to faculty with the similar individuals for all 12 decades, and to see how close everybody in the class is.”
Hugo explained that the grades students gain in ninth quality are then taken into thing to consider as the learners use for higher faculty. The large universities offer distinct systems which match a student’s strengths or interests. People applications consist of know-how, overall economy, enterprise, mother nature – which is additional for medical professionals and experts, and a wonderful arts style software.
College students might also choose to go to university someplace other than their hometown, so they usually have college students from a number of various metropolitan areas represented at a large university. He stated it is also very aggressive, so those people scoring the highest grades in each area have choice for accessible spots in that university. “That also signifies that the folks who are there actually want to be there, so we never have detention or anything like that. As a substitute, if one particular person misses a great deal of university he can lose his spot,” he said. Hugo is likely the technological know-how line, centered toward engineering.
Sadly, this faculty 12 months did not rely for Hugo back home, so when he returns to Sweden he will have to entire his senior 12 months of higher university. “But I get two senior years, so I simply cannot really complain. I get two graduations so that will be amazing.”
When below on exchange, Hugo did have the likelihood to do a minimal little bit of touring and see a couple of sights. He knowledgeable a vacation to Chicago, has been skiing, and visited Mt. Rushmore. “It was snowing while we were being there so it type of looked like George Washington was crying,” he shared with a chuckle. He also attended Husker football and baseball video games, as properly as a big league baseball sport although in Chicago.
“We also had two faculty dances, and that was exciting,” explained Hugo. “We have nothing like that in Sweden so that was special.”
When asked what he is likely to pass up about Gothenburg when he returns to Sweden, Hugo replied, “Just the closeness of the neighborhood – how every person exhibits up at games and everyone is alongside one another,” he stated.