We are pleased to announce Aktan Satybaldiev from Kyrgyzstan as the January FLEX Student of the Month!
Aktan and his host family both speak of getting to know one another with warmth. Aktan approaches life in his new home with kindness and curiosity. He puts in effort to get to know his host family through playing board games, watching movies, and asking questions about the United States. Never missing an opportunity to make them smile, Aktan surprised his host dad on His birthday with a shirt that read: “American with a little taste Of Kyrgyzstan.” Aktan has also become close to his extended host family. His host grandfather exclaimed, “You have become My full-fledged grandson, and you can always come to our house, call, and ask for anything you need.” Aktan believes in the universal language of food and sharing it with one another. On Thanksgiving he shared some of his national dishes, and in a heartfelt article for his placement organization he wrote, “My passion for cooking traditional food became a cultural exchange, with each dish telling a story of my heritage.”
Aktan has engaged in a wide range of community service activities. Following his love of nature, he has spent many hours at Ouabache State Park picking up garbage and clearing out invasive species. He has also spent time at the Huntington Humane Society and a non-profit called Helping Hands, where he assisted in supervising children, surprising himself by how much he enjoyed it. Aktan has even received the Intern of the Week award at his school after interning at the Wells County Public Library, where he helped the staff organize a Christmas Concert in which his host sister Madelyn performed! Aktan’s goal upon returning to Kyrgyzstan is to volunteer at non-governmental organizations and develop an institution to address the social problems his country faces. His host mom says he’s good at all the activities that he undertakes because he is hard-working and humble.
Aktan’s work ethic and positivity shine through in school as well. Even with a difficult course load he is excelling with mostly A’s for his grades. Spanish has become his favorite class because he enjoys surprising his classmates with the fact that Spanish is his sixth language! Aktan has joined the Champions Together Club, Friends of the Shelter Club, and the German Club, which took him on a group trip to Chicago. During International Education Week he taught his classmates about Kyrgyz culture and treated them to traditional Kyrgyz food like Boorsok (fried dough) and Kurut (cheeseballs). Aktan said, “One of the enjoyable moments during my IEW presentation was teaching my classmates the Kyrgyz alphabet. As they repeated after me, their surprise and joyful laughter resonated. Overall, I felt an immense sense of pride for both Kyrgyzstan and myself!”
Congratulations, Aktan!
