An illustration shows Sports Staffer Kye Streetman and her family welcoming their foreign exchange student, Emil Turk, at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Aug. 7, 2024. Streetman and her family hosted Emil for the 2024-25 school year, and discovered that the experience was far more meaningful than she expected, gaining a lasting friendship as well as family. “He fit in well with our family, but the adjustment came harder than I anticipated. Suddenly, someone new was sharing my space,” Streetman wrote. “Along the way, making space for him stopped feeling like an obligation and started feeling like something I wanted to do.” Illustration by Lucca Fleenor
Sports Staffer Kye Streetman reflects on how hosting a foreign exchange student during her freshman year of high school brought an unexpected friendship.
My family has always been spontaneous, but hosting an exchange student became one of our most impactful decisions.
In September 2024, my mom and I started scrolling through profiles of students from around the world for fun, and imagined them living in our home. Three weeks later, we were driving to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to meet one for the first time.
I was a freshman at Clarke Central High School when Emil Turk from Vienna, Austria, arrived as a sophomore and semester-student, with the option to extend his stay to a full year. The beginning of his placement felt new and exciting, and I had no idea what to expect.
“Along the way, making space for him stopped feeling like an obligation and started feeling like something I wanted to do.”
He fit in well with our family, but the adjustment came harder than I anticipated. Suddenly, someone new was sharing my space. I had to consider him in every plan, and as the oldest sibling to my 11-year-old sister, Aerie, responsibility was on me.
At first, the commitment felt heavy.
I could tell Emil loved being in America, and I enjoyed helping him experience it, but our bond hadn’t caught up yet. In October, he told us he wanted to stay for the full academic year. We struggled with his request because it was a big responsibility and financial commitment for us.
But we decided to extend his stay, trusting that with more time, we would only grow closer. Over winter break, the family took a trip to New York to visit my mom’s side of the family. Through forced close time together, the trip became the turning point in our relationship with Emil.
A story map shows Sports Staffer Kye Streetman’s exchange student Emil Turk’s journey from Vienna, Austria to the United States, and the trips the family took during his stay. Through spending so much close time together, the family’s trip to New York shifted their relationship dynamic with Emil. “We decided to extend his stay, trusting that with more time, we would only grow closer,” Streetman wrote. “Over winter break, the family took a trip to New York to visit my mom’s side of the family. Through forced close time together, the trip became the turning point in our relationship with Emil.” Map by Kye Streetman
Along the way, making space for him stopped feeling like an obligation and started feeling like something I wanted to do.
I’m used to protecting my space and my feelings, so letting someone new in wasn’t easy. But once I realized we were experiencing our first year at CCHS together, just in different ways, we began debriefing after school, sharing friends and advice.
Sports Staffer Kye Streetman (middle) poses for a picture with her sister, Aerie, (left) and their foreign exchange student, Emil Turk (right), while having dinner at Osteria Olio, located at 355 Oneta St, in 2024. Streetman felt a heavy obligation while hosting that became overwhelming at times as the oldest sibling. “I could tell Emil loved being in America, and I enjoyed helping him experience it, but our bond hadn’t caught up yet,” Streetman wrote. “I had to consider him in every plan, and as the oldest sibling to my 11-year-old sister, Aerie, responsibility was on me.” Streetman wrote. Photo courtesy of Jonathon Streetman
He helped me through some of the toughest parts of navigating high school as a freshman, and I gained one of the most genuine friendships I’ve ever had.
Emil went home in June 2025, but the space I made for him is still here.
