Bringing a bit of Europe to the Heartland

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WOLSEY — As the names for the 2023 Wolsey-Wessington graduating class were announced last Saturday, a very obvious theme emerged. And we’re not talking about the host of senior female athletes who led the Lady Warbirds to third-place finishes in the state for both volleyball and basketball.

No, with three foreign exchange students receiving their diplomas, there was a definite international flavor for the small school that has 110 student enrollment in the high school.

Two of those foreign exchange students stayed with the same family during the 2022-2023 school year.

Maela Di Vito and Riccardo (Ricky) Maurovic received their diplomas a week ago, after spending the last year in the home of Eric and Ashley Hiles.

Ricky and Maela are the 12th and 13th students that the Hiles have hosted through ASSE International Student Exchange Program. Ashley has become an area representative for the agency.

With Ricky leaving on May 31 to return to Italy and Maela returning to Belgium on June 1, the Hiles say it will be an adjustment for their family.

“They grow a lot in their year here. I tell them to remember that while they’ve been here, their friends and family haven’t gone through that growth, so they know what to expect when they go home,” Ashley noted. “They do become another member of the family, and our kids definitely are impacted when they leave.”

Eric echoed that sentiment, “It’s hard for our kids when they leave. It’s hard for us, even.”

Maela and Ricky were both involved with activities at Wolsey-Wessington High School this year that they had not tried before - and some that they had.

“If you want to play sports (in Italy), you have to play for a club and you play all year. We don’t have seasons,” Ricky observed. “American basketball was good for me to learn the different basketball because it’s very different in Europe.”


Riccardo Maurovic, an exchange student who attended Wolsey-Wessington High School, takes a short jumper for the Warbirds in the 281 Conference Tournament at Huron Arena.

Maela echoed Ricky’s enjoyment of trying new things.

“I had never done sports,” she said. “I did volleyball and cheerleading here, and I had never done those.”

Ricky has one more year of school to meet Italian requirements for graduation, while Maela is now done with school and intends to move on to college education next year in Belgium, focusing on international law or business. She described the experience as a “break” for her.

“Your life is paused for a year, and you can enjoy a different life for a year before returning to reality,” Maela expressed. When the term “gap year” was brought up to describe her experience, she replied, “That was the case for me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for college, and coming here really helped me figure it out.”

Both came from significantly larger areas than Wolsey, with Ricky’s class at home being double the total high school enrollment of Wolsey, for example, and there was some adjustment to small-town living.

“I was scared when I heard I was going to Wolsey because I was worried that it’d be really small, but it was good,” Maela remarked. “They have a lot of animals on the farm, so that was fun.”

Ricky echoed the initial trepidation.

“At the beginning, you could feel the difference,” he nodded. “In Italy, when we are out of food or milk or something, I could just take my bike and head to the market and buy everything I want. Here, if I finish something, I had to communicate this to Ashley, so the next time we went to town, we could get it or I would remain out.”

Adjustments in life revolving around food is not uncommon for Ricky, according to Eric and Ashley, who both note how much he can eat. Alyssa Hiles, the family’s eldest, deadpanned “they eat all my food” when asked what changes in the house with an exchange student.

“That’s mostly been Ricky,” Ashley joked.

The food was definitely something that made an impression on Maurovic.

“The meat here is pretty good,” Ricky excitedly recalled. “The first time I tried a caramel roll, wow! I like those very much.”

Maela noticed a difference in the education system in America.

“The relationship between teachers and students is much different,” she stated. “Teachers are your friends, whereas in Belgium, it’s more of a formal relationship.”


Maela Di Vito, left, and host sister Hannah Hiles were Warbird cheerleaders during the basketball season.

She also observed a difference in socializing in a small town.

“I did miss parties. But I did like cozy weekends in my bed, too,” Maela laughed. “Instead, we go to Walmart together, and that’s fun.”

Having a chance to experience farm/country life was also something new - and at a very different scope - for Ricky and Maela.

“I live in a populated area, so seeing a deer is pretty rare. But here, I saw deer in the road in front of me, I heard hunters shooting, and saw lots of nature,” Ricky shared. “We don’t have such big farms in Italy. I was impressed when I saw it for the first time.”

Eric appreciated the willingness to learn about the farm.

“A lot of times where they come from, they have a couple head of cattle. They can’t understand the magnitude of the farm size here,” he said. “It can be difficult to bring them out and make sure it’s safe, but it’s fun when they show an interest in what I like.”

Both students noted the wide view of nature as something very different from home for them.

“Everything is way bigger! Everything is so far apart,” Di Vito smirked. “When you go between Sioux Falls and Mitchell, there’s really nothing between them, and that’s so different. The fields and space is so much bigger.”

“I would go out for a run after school, and when you get out, you can actually see the entire distance you’re going,” Ricky recalled. “I would run six miles, and you could see the very end where I would turn around from the beginning. There are so many things in the way from seeing that far at home.”

Ashley tried to individualize the experience for each student.

“Just like our kids, everyone is different,” she explained. “Ricky is definitely one to ask questions - lots of questions! He wants to fully experience everything. Maela is very chill. She’s just like Hannah, and they get along great.”

She continued, “We do fun things every year with the exchange kids. Our kids are about sick of Mount Rushmore. Maela wanted to see Hawaii, and normally there’s no way we could have done that, but it worked for us to do that.”

A trip to Minneapolis fulfilled Ricky’s desire to see an NBA basketball game.

“Minneapolis was my first ‘big’ city,” Ricky expressed. “I got to see the NBA and a big college (the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus) and a big mall.”

Asked how the relationship with the host family changed, both stated that they will miss the Hiles. Maela expressed some trepidation to leave.

“I clicked with Ashley pretty fast, so the transition here was quick,” she said. “And I love my host sister, Hannah. She’s my best friend now. I will miss my host family.”


Heartland area students participating in the ASSE International Student Exchange Program pose for a group photo while on an apple and pumpkin picking outing last fall.

Both students had strong feelings about encouraging students to participate and especially about encouraging host families to sign up.

“I had older friends who tried the exchange program and heard really good things from them,” Maela recounted. “I got a bit nervous wondering if I could really do it, but I decided that if you don’t do it, you will regret it.”

She added for prospective host families, “You gain so much knowledge from having someone from another country. You also get to create a real relationship with someone from another country.”

Ricky was emphatic on his desire to have families sign up to host.

“PLEASE, do it, do it! It is a really good idea to host a student,” he expressed. “It allows a student to learn about American culture, and you can learn about his culture. Just try it once, and you’ll realize how great it is to share your house with a foreign student.”

After being one of four foreign exchange students at Wolsey-Wessington High School this year, both Malea and Ricky return home this week, with a bit of Wolsey and the Hiles family in their heart forever.