Rankin1223web

A
Contented
Transplant
Camille Anding
“Why not try an exchange student?”
That was the friend’s question that
initiated Amanda and Sam Fant looking into
the possibility of hosting an exchange student.
For months their hearts had been open and
receptive to sharing their spacious home with
a child or young person in need. Their first
thoughts were the possibility of adoption or
fostering a child.
After completing all the paperwork and
completing multiple steps, they gained their
license to foster and soon welcomed a young
boy into their home. It was a wonderful
experience until they had to give the child up
to one of his family members. The Fants
hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to
love a child and then have to “let go.”
It was for that reason that hosting an
exchange student seemed like such a great
idea. Both parties would know it would be
a year’s stay and a wonderful opportunity to
make new friends with a family in another
country. Sam said, “I told Amanda, ‘Let’s pray
and talk about it.’” The Fants agreed that this
felt right.
They contacted the American Scandinavian
Student Exchange and Amanda said,
“The ball rolled really quickly!” Soon, they
were going through files of students that had
applied for the exchange program. One
young lady kept coming back to their top
choice list – Irma Boracchini.
She was from Reggio Emilia, a small
town in northern Italy. Amanda and Sam
agreed that she seemed to be the perfect fit
to share their Mississippi home.
In mid-August, Sam was at work while
monitoring Irma’s flight from Italy to
Mississippi on his computer. Irma’s parents
were doing the same thing. Even though it
seemed like a challenging adventure for a
high school senior, both of Irma’s parents
had encouraged her to participate in the
program. Her mom had been an exchange
student at age seventeen and Irma’s two
older sisters had been exchange students in
Thailand and Uruguay. Their experiences
had been positive, so Irma was excited about
living “abroad” for a year.
The petite, dark-haired beauty arrived
safely, and after a couple of rest days to recover
from jet lag, she enrolled at Northwest
Rankin as a senior. The students, teachers,
and administration gave her a cordial
welcome, and Irma, assisted by her Mississippi
“parents” and counselor, wasted no time in
getting involved in school life.
Hometown RANKIN • 35