Maeve Heaney

Undecided 

International Business            

Maeve Heaney, senior, sits at the airport gate alone, letting her thoughts run wild when reality hits. She realizes once she lands in Germany, she will be on her own for the next 10 months.

“It didn’t hit me how long I was staying until I was actually at the airport,” Heaney said. “I realized that I’m going to be gone for every holiday [and] every birthday. I’ll be on my own.”

Just months before the start of her senior year, Heaney found a government funded exchange program. Together, Heaney and her mom decided it was too good of an experience to pass up. Her interest first sparked when her family hosted foreign exchange students throughout the years.

“My family has hosted a lot of exchange students in the past, so I’ve always wanted to [do an exchange],” Heaney said. “I finally got this opportunity and thought it would be cool.”

Since arriving in Germany, Heaney has stayed with three different host families and strengthened fluency in the language. She said that getting to develop her language skills is surreal and reminds her why she decided to do an exchange year.

“[The best part is] seeing progress in both my confidence in speaking German and learning about what comes out of an exchange year,” Heaney said. “I’ve gotten to [discover] more about myself and other cultures.”

Before she was in German class, Heaney took French and finished with AP French in her sophomore year with help from her French elementary school. Anna Kalfus, her teacher throughout middle and high school, said that Heaney is different from most students because of her bravery.

“It’s the bravest kids I know that do an exchange year, it is life changing,” Kalfus said. “It takes a lot of guts, but for Maeve to leave her senior year [is] so courageous.”

Looking back, Heaney said the hardest part of her exchange year will be leaving because of the life changing friendships she has made. Heaney said that she is continuing to grow closer to her peers and her host family.

“Overtime I made a lot of really close friends and we began to hangout all the time,” Heaney said. “They always made sure that I felt included.”