Meet the Foreign Exchange Students: Q and A with Lida Asilyan
Photo by Parker DePond
Where are you from?
Armenia, it is east of Turkey and north of Iran.
Tell me about your hometown. If I came to visit you, where in your town would you take me? What would you show me?
My hometown is Ijevan, it is has about 20,000 people in it. It is placed in the mountainous part of Armenia, and has lots of beautiful nature. The first place that I would like to show you is the Yell Extreme Park, where you can go ziplining and eat national food. It has lots of beautiful views and you would enjoy the fresh air of the highlands.
Who do you live with at home? How many siblings do you have?
Back in Armenia, we are a family of 7; my dad, mom, grandma, two sisters and a brother. Here I live with a lovely host family- Tammy and Mike Ryans. I am the middle child and it is a big responsibility and pleasure to be a big sister for my 5 and 8 year old siblings.
Why did you decide to study in the United States?
Being a foreign exchange student was always my biggest dream. Before I thought it was impossible to do, but when I got the call from American Council of Armenia I was very happy. The best moment of my life was to realize that I’m honored to come here, study at a high school and experience lots of new things.
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![Rhyan Miller is the April student of the month. Miller is the daughter of Charity and Rich Miller, and has maintained a 3.925 GPA. Her three favorite classes in high school have been drama as literature, Prostart II, and news journalism. Miller participates in cross country, theater, individual and large group speech, the prostart team, student council, NHS, silver cord, and track. She feels that her experiences in those activities have made her more extroverted, sharing that she is "not afraid of [her] own voice anymore." Miller plans to attend Winona State University to major in psychology and minor in political science. Her advice to others is to "Fake it 'till you make it." She feels she was selected as student of the month due to her increased active presence in the classroom. She is also thankful for the good parking spot. In honor of her achievements, Raccoon Valley Bank has donated $100 to the ADM Scholarship Foundation.](https://blackandredgister.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260427_104331-600x450.jpg)
