Kuemper Catholic High School welcomed students from West Des Moines Valley High on Wednesday to experience what school is like in a rural, private school environment. About 15 Valley 10th- through 12th-graders spent the morning participating in classes ranging from biology to physical education. Sondra Nasimiyu, a junior at Valley, says her favorite part of the exchange was a religion class with Father Brian Feller.
The most surprising part of student life for Valley students is how the Kuemper community is so close. One student joked that teachers here taught an entire family, not just one student. Junior, Omar Mustafa, says he liked how everybody knew everybody while walking the halls.
For Kuemper students, the biggest difference was the diversity of the visiting group. Nearly every ethnicity is represented at Valley, and Senior, Draven Haefs, says bringing that to Carroll was invaluable.
Austin Lampe, also a senior, says the exchange showed how different things can be outside of rural Iowa.
Kuemper students visited Valley earlier this year, and after Wednesday’s exchange, was the first time for both groups to experience a different type of school environment. Event organizers indicated they hope to continue these exchanges after seeing this one’s success.
