During this school year, two exchange students from Italy are living with families on each end of Garrett County and attending high school as seniors. They are each hosted through a different organization, and the fact that they are both here from Italy is coincidental. Once they learned of the connection, the families met each other and have gotten together a few times. Their stories are different, yet very similar.

Riccardo Maione and the Meyer family: Riccardo Maione lives with the family of Dave and Angie Meyer in Oakland and is currently attending Southern High School. “Riccardo is the first long- term exchange student we have hosted, but we hosted German students for a week each summer for five years through the German-American Club,” Angie Meyer said. “We also participated in the Fresh Air program for 10 years, hosting the same child from New York City two weeks every summer.