Owatonna High School is excited to welcome its final foreign exchange student of the year, Yosefin Apelt from Germany. 17-year-old Apelt has embraced American life with curiosity, courage, and an open heart.

Back home, Apelt is the youngest of three sisters and enjoys staying active through dancing, weight lifting, karate, and horseback riding. And this past fall managed the Owatonna Girls Swim and Dive team.  

Her decision to become an exchange student began unexpectedly at a horse riding camp, where she met a friend returning from her own exchange year. Inspired by that experience, Apelt applied during the camp and now finds herself cheering at American football games and exploring places like the Omaha, Nebraska Zoo.

Adjusting to life in the U.S. hasn’t been without challenges. Yosefin Apelt says homesickness has been the hardest part, especially missing her friends, family, and her grandmother’s home cooked meals. While she enjoys American favorites like Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, and Taco John’s, she misses German food, which she describes as healthier and less fatty.

Along with the food Apelt has loved her experiences with american sports and tells me about how fun watching the gymnastics team at their meet was!

Apelt hopes to leave the year with stronger English skills and a deeper understanding of American culture. She’s grateful to her host family, Samantha and Caleb Traxler, and especially thankful for her parents back home, who made this experience possible.  

As her exchange year continues, Yosefin hopes to travel more possibly even to Las Vegas and says she would like to return to the U.S. someday later on. For now, she’s making the most of her time in Owatonna, bringing a positive energy that has already made a lasting impression on the OHS community.