Claire Geslot-Ferreira is a senior at Camas High School (CHS) and a foreign exchange student from France.

When asked about her experience in the US, she expressed how welcoming and enjoyable her time here has been.

“My host family has been super great, and everyone in school has been really amazing to me,” Geslot-Ferreira said.

Geslot-Ferreira has learned a lot during her stay, including how to strengthen her English speaking skills.

“I think practicing speaking English has been one of my favorite parts of living here,” Geslot-Ferreira said. “I have become more confident in speaking English.”

Geslot-Ferreira isn’t the only person who has noticed her confidence. Her host mother, Diana Gage, has also noticed a boost of confidence.

“It [her English speaking skills] has gotten a lot smoother and she has just gotten more confident in speaking up,” Diana Gage said. “The other day, she was like, ‘my English is not good today’ and I actually thought she sounded great and fantastic.”

Diana Gage shared why she and her husband wanted to host an exchange student.

“Our oldest daughter was an exchange student in Norway. And that was a really great experience for her. My youngest daughter is graduating this year, so it sort of felt like the last year that we could do it,” Diana Gage said.

Diana Gage’s husband and Geslot-Ferreira’s host father, Brian Gage, shared how he has watched her grow throughout the year.

“One of the things I’m really proud about is the fact that she took the risk to come in the first place,” Brian Gage said. “Seeing that she’s taking risks and chances and getting to know people and what she’s accomplished in taking ceramics and other classes has been really amazing to witness.”

Brian Gage also shared why he wanted to host Geslot-Ferreira.

“When I was in high school, I hadn’t been anywhere, and I always wanted to travel the world. I had the opportunity later to travel the world for five weeks, by myself, with just a backpack. I met lots of interesting people that expanded my understanding of different cultures,” Brian Gage said. “I thought to myself, ‘we have a spare room and my youngest daughter is about to graduate,’ so we found someone artistic, just like my daughter, and decided to host her.”

Geslot-Ferreira is going back to France on June 15 and she aspires to continue studying abroad around Europe during college.