Photo courtesy of Stuart Public Library.

International Education Week is being celebrated in the U.S., a time to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.

A West Central Valley High School exchange student has been using this week to the fullest extent to educate the community on her homeland and create a closer connection between the two nations. Nuraiym Nurgazieva is a 12th grade student from Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country known for its mountainous landscape, a stark difference from the cornfields of Iowa. Nuraiym was so passionate to be involved in an exchange program that she tested three years in a row for the opportunity. She has enjoyed her year in Stuart so far, living with her host family of Michael and Brandi Thomas, and participating in groups including FFA and sports such as cheerleading and basketball.

Nuraiym has been giving presentations about Kyrgyzstan in the school district this week, which she says has been a fun experience, “I really appreciate that people were interested in it and they were actively attending my activities. They really loved dancing my national dance and playing national games. And there was a lot of questions and because of shortage of the time I couldn’t really answer all of them, but I really enjoyed it.”

If you’ve noticed the decorative displays at the Stuart Public Library this fall, you can thank Nuraiym as she’s spent much of her time volunteering there, and will be giving public presentations on her home country tonight at 5 and 6 p.m. at the library. You can hear more from Nuraiym during today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program at raccoonvalleyradio.com.