BY JACOB GUNNER
Many remember him as the fun-loving Finnish guy who played hockey and won prom king, but what is the 2015 Mariemont American Field Service (AFS) student up to lately?
Recently, I got a chance to catch up with Erdal Fere through iMessage.
He is currently back in his hometown of Helsinki, Finland. He is finishing his last year and a half of upper secondary school, which is similar to high school in the US.
When he graduates, he will be joining the Navy for at least a year as one year of service is required in Finland. There, he hopes to become a sniper.
When he is done with his year of service, Fere plans to study law or economics abroad somewhere. Possibly The Ohio State University he says.
As he moves on in life, Fere’s trip to Mariemont remains a large part of his life.
Fere still maintains daily contact with his friends from Mariemont as well as his fellow exchange student from Germany, Albert Nowitzki.
Just recently Fere made a trip back to the US to hang out with 2015 graduate Cooper Hayes in New York City. “We did some sightseeing and other random stuff, mostly legal,” he says.
In his everyday life Fere says that his exchange trip has affected his life immeasurably. “I have become more independent and understanding of other cultures,” he says. “I also follow baseball and college basketball now,” he adds.
Studying as an exchange student didn’t just leave a mental mark on Fere.
Junior Ryan Fields recalls his favorite memory of Fere was when he got a tattoo of Ohio on his backside. “The year was so great that I wanted a memory of it,” says Fere.
Fere left fond memories for many students. Sophomore Miller Steele shares his favorite “Ertsi Moment” of when Fere shot baby tomatoes at him with a sling shot. “He’s just a really funny guy,” Steele adds.
Without any current exchange students at Mariemont this year, it is important that we remember how beneficial the trips are.
Nate Michaelson, Fere’s “host brother” says that he learned a lot from his visit. “I learned that people from foreign countries really aren’t that different from us: they have similar personalities and senses of humor ,” he says.
Michaelson also adds, “I’m glad he learned what it’s like to live in the greatest country in the world.”