Parker’s American Field Service (AFS) student this year is Richard Moser from Homberg, Germany, a village of just 200 people a hour and half drive from Frankfurt. He was one of many international students who applied last year to AFS for a spot to study in the United States.  

Moser arrived to Chicago before the school year started and was greeted by his student host, senior Phillip Barber. “It’s like having a brother,” Barber said. “Every morning I wake up to Richard practicing his ‘w’s.’”

Choosing an AFS student takes Parker an entire semester, and there are many factors that the AFS committee, head of the upper school, and vice-principal Ruth Jurgensen take into account. “We want people we want to learn from,” Jurgensen said. “We also want students who are mature and ready enough for the experience.”

Jurgensen points out how hard it can be to predict. How a student may react to a new city, school, and lifestyle, she said, “It’s very hard to anticipate.”

“Jurgensen and former Upper School Head, Joe Ruggiero wanted a student from Europe this year,” Lisa Hadesman, a parent on the AFS committee, said. (When asked, Jurgensen said she did not remember expressing a preference for a particular continent.)

Jurgensen stressed that the choice is about more than region. “We look at age and fit,” she said. “There is more to it than just the country, AFS creates an extensive application.” Jurgensen’s favorite part of Richard’s application was his usually rural background.

Moser had little voice in the process. He said, “I basically could have been placed anywhere in the U.S.” He is happy to have been placed in a city.

In Homburg, Moser was a part of the school newspaper at Veldenz Gymnasium Lauterecken. “I was leading the student newspaper,” Moser said. “It was very small compared to this,” he said, gesturing to a copy of “The Weekly.” “It’s quite impressive.” Moser was also a part of a very popular theater group at his school. At Parker he auditioned for the fall play and given a lead but declined the part because he didn’t feel like he had enough time.

The biggest difference between Parker and Veldenz Gymnasium Lauterecken, according to Moser, is the number of breaks. “ Here you have a lot of breaks,” Moser said, describing his senior schedule. “I have E break and F break,”

He names the biggest cultural difference that he finds between the U.S. and Europe is how we talk to one another.“The way you talk to someone is very different,” Moser states. “It’s more formal and more direct and you mean what you say.”

As to Moser’s near future, he answers that he is interested in coming back to the U.S for university.

Parker has accepted an AFS student every year and sometimes hosts multiple foreign students for a couple of days or weeks at a time, but very seldomly does Parker send students abroad. “I think students should consider going abroad if it fits with their schedule or their means,” Jurgensen said, adding “I don’t personally encourage it. I love to see all of you just plugging away and participating in the community.”