Between Here and Home: MMACHS Exchange Student Shines

Laura Bubnova and her classmates.

Laura Bubnova and her host sister.

By Seniors Franzen Costales and Alexandra Maghari

Some dreams begin quietly, as movie scenes replay in our heads. At first, they’re just imagined places—never quite real. For our exchange student from the Czech Republic, Laura Bubnova, America was one of those dreams. Before plane tickets and paperwork, it was just an idea: classrooms from the movies, football Friday nights, and a life different from the one she knew.

Exchange student programs make distant dreams come true. They give students the chance to leave behind what is familiar and step into something unknown: a new country, a new family, a new school, and a new version of themselves.

Laura’s dream didn’t start with an application. It started when she was a child, watching American movies and imagining herself inside them. She remembers loving High School Musical and being fascinated by what American schools looked like. When she finally turned sixteen and the opportunity came, she took it immediately.

The process was long and overwhelming, but for Laura, the hardest part wasn’t the paperwork—it was the waiting and the uncertainty. She didn’t know where she would end up or who would choose her. Two months after submitting her application, she was selected by members of our MMACHS community, Mr. Gaudet and his family. When she found out they had chosen her, excitement and fear came together as she accepted that she would be leaving everything familiar behind.

Her first phone call with the Gaudet family was nerve-racking. 

“It would be my first experience talking to native speakers, and I was so nervous!” she said. 

Sitting on the couch with her family back home, the call lasted two whole hours. By the end of it, something already felt right—easy, natural, and comforting.

A few months later, Laura met the Gaudet family in person during a school field trip to England. Standing in front of a museum in Oxford, the experience became real. 

“…I think I saw them when we [her school] were arriving [in Oxford]. But then, when I saw them standing in front of the museum, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh…this is actually happening. These are real people!’” she recalled.

For Mr. Gaudet, hosting Laura was never about welcoming a guest for a year—it was about opening space in his family. As an only child raising an only daughter, Ellie, he explained how his understanding of love changed. 

“…you have so much of your heart to give, and if you have another kid, that means you’re gonna have to split it. And then you talk to parents, and they say, ‘No, no, no, your heart grows.’ And I get what they mean now. Laura is just 100% a family member,” Gaudet shared.

Laura didn’t take space away from their family. She expanded it.

When Laura talks about her favorite memory so far, she mentions her first day at MMACHS orientation. Many students already recognized her, which made the moment feel welcoming instead of overwhelming. “I remember Blake (Mr. Gaudet) telling me he gave my Instagram profile to all of you…So when I walked in, I saw Allison and Kylie, and they were like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Laura!’ and in my mind, I could not believe they knew me already…that was probably my first favorite memory,” she said.

Another highlight was her first volleyball game. Back in Prague, Laura played beach volleyball, and with the support of her host family, she brought that passion to high school indoor volleyball. She didn’t just play—she was a starting libero. Standing in the gym and hearing the crowd, she realized she was living something she once only imagined.

Still, the moments that mean the most to her are the quiet ones at home: “…just spending time with my whole family at home after a long day. I love them so much, and I can feel like they are taking me as a part of the family.” 

Those moments showed her she wasn’t just staying with a family—she was part of one.

Through Laura, Ellie gained a sister figure. Through the Gaudets, Laura found something steady in the middle of everything new—a place to land, and a place to be understood. As her year continues, Laura hopes to stay present, build stronger connections, and leave knowing she truly lived here. Mr. Gaudet hopes she leaves with confidence in herself and in what she is capable of.

When Laura eventually returns home, the distance will come back—but it won’t mean the same thing. There will always be a family here for her. This story doesn’t end with a flight. Laura came to America chasing a dream she once saw in the movies. Because she saw more between here and home: belonging, love, and a second home thousands of miles away…