Switzerland Exchange Student Reflects on Year at Horicon High School

Tomas Blaser, an 18-year-old from Switzerland, spent the school year in Horicon through Reflections International, a Wisconsin-based exchange student agency that “specializes in exchanges between Wisconsin and Europe, particularly Germany and Switzerland.”
Blaser started the year participating in football, playing the positions of wide receiver and defensive back.
Here in spring, he is participating in track and field, competing in the 100m and 200m dashes, 300m hurdles, high jump, and long jump throughout the season, and the Horicon Youth Trap Team (HYTT), where he is the first exchange student to ever be on the team.
Trapshooting is unique in that a student’s country of origin determines whether or not they can compete, and luckily, Blaser was allowed. The only prior experience he had with shooting a gun was with a .22 back home, and he had enjoyed it.
“Tomas is respectful to everyone as well as handling a firearm, [and] that’s number one to be a part of the HYTT,” HYTT secretary/treasurer Cindy Kanzenbach said. “Tomas has a positive attitude that is contagious, for the whole team, including coaches!”

“I quite like this year here; a lot of new friends and new sports,” said Blaser, which he will miss when he returns home.
He later shared that he will miss the ability to participate in multiple sports through school because in Switzerland the opportunities to participate in sports are outside of, or separate, from school and a year-round commitment.
While making and spending time with friends and participating in athletics have been main highlights for Blaser, he has also enjoyed his time in school at Horicon.
One thing Blaser noticed that was a pleasant surprise to him is the relationship between teachers and students in America.
“It feels more close and you can speak about a lot of stuff. Some teachers speak about their personal life. In my country… the teacher is not personal. There is more speaking about the class and it’s more focused,” Blaser said. “That was a big change for me. You can go nicely ask a teacher and they will take even more time to answer questions or talk about anything.”
Some of the classes that he took a liking to this past year were his physical and sports education classes.
High School Principal Teresa Graven shared, “Tomas Blaser is a fine young man; we enjoy having him here.”
When Blaser returns home at the end of the school year, he will go on to finish “college” as he has three years left out of five. After that, he will try to go to university where he is thinking about studying architecture or economics.
Ending with what he thinks about the community of Horicon, Blaser said, “It’s a small place but a pretty good one where you can make good friends.”