Brazilian student finds community in year at Giltner
Motivated by the stories of multiple family members who did exchange programs in North America, Brazilian Alice Puhl spent the last year as a senior at Giltner High School. She graduated with the Giltner Class of 2026 and has now returned home, excited to be reunited with her family.
“Basically, all of my family did an exchange year,” Puhl said. “I had this idea in my mind, because all of them really liked it and they had (experienced) a big change... My mother did the exchange in Hawaii, one of my cousins did it in Utah and my other cousin did it in Beatrice.”
Puhl’s family lives in the city of Curitiba, the capital city of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. She described Brazil as having a diverse range of landscapes, from the Amazon Rainforest to the large cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
“Brazil is a very diverse country with a rich culture, influenced by Indigenous, African and European traditions,” she said. “I think what makes Brazil special is its cultural diversity and the warmth of its people.”
Puhl’s school day in Curitiba would begin early in the morning and end around noon. She used to spend her afternoons practicing English.
“I used to play tennis in the afternoon and go to the gym after my English practice with my dad,” she said. “During the weekends, I would eat lunch out with my family. On Sundays, we would always go to my grandma’s house and she would make lunch for us.”
Puhl arrived in the United States on Aug. 12, and first lived in Grand Island.
“I saw the name Grand Island and was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to the beach!’” she said. “I was so excited. I was like, ‘Thank God I didn’t get placed in the middle of nowhere. Then I searched and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s in the middle of Nebraska.’”
Despite her initial disappointment, Puhl was surprised to see how big Grand Island actually is.
“My friends were like, “Oh my, you are going to the countryside,’” Puhl said. “But when I arrived here, it totally changed. Grand Island is big and has a lot of stores. I was shocked because I was told it was going to be small and more country.”
By Halloween she had moved to Doniphan to live with her host family, the Stewarts, which consists of her host parents, Jeff and Gina, along with three host siblings, Kinlee, Brodey and Peyton. Puhl also lives with fellow exchange student Beatrice Donati, who arrived in the U.S. from Rome, Italy.
“I always wanted a sister who I could talk to,” Puhl said. “(Since) she arrived, we do everything together. We even have the same room together. It’s good because I hate doing things alone. I always have to be with someone. I can just tell her and we always do something and go out.”
Prior to coming to Giltner High School, Puhl attended Grand Island Senior High School. She had never moved from classroom to classroom or used a locker to store her school items.
“I had classes, but I didn’t move to a (different) classroom,” Puhl said. “You don’t have to walk and put things in a locker. We have to go with our bag and sit and stay.”
When she met the other students at GISH, she was surprised by the questions they asked her.
“A lot of people think we have monkeys,” she said. “They have asked me if I have a cell phone, if we speak Spanish, ‘If you have monkeys in the street, if you have a jungle?’ No, I have the city. It’s not in a jungle. It’s just a normal city.”
Puhl said she has grown to love the Giltner’s welcoming atmosphere.
“I’m lucky that everyone knows each other,” she said. “It’s so small and you have classes with everyone. I think that’s what I like about Giltner.”
Among the challenges she encountered was adjusting to learning in a different language, especially for her English class.
“Sometimes you have to translate, and then you have to think and then I try to remember if I already understood and I still have to translate for some things,” Puhl said. “English is very hard for me because we were learning “Hamlet.” It’s already difficult reading the entire thing in English and I never read Shakespeare in Brazil.”
Math class has also presented unique challenges.
“In Brazil, we don’t use computers at all (for school),” she said. “We have a book and the teachers would put on a PowerPoint, so we have to write everything. Here, sometimes they keep talking, so you have to write and pay attention sometimes.”
Puhl spent many hours after school supporting her classmates at home football at GISH and basketball games at Giltner.
“I went with my friends to watch football games,” Puhl said. “I don’t have (American) football in Brazil. It was fun. It’s very different... I also liked Homecoming. It was very big and different. I didn’t have school parties in my country.”
While familiar with sports like tennis and pickleball, Puhl decided to put on her running shoes and compete in the 100m dash for track at Giltner.
“I had never done track in my life, running much less,” Puhl said. “It’s been a different experience for me and I’m enjoying it. I like going to the meets and meeting new people and other exchange students.”
Her exchange year has also given Puhl an opportunity to see more of the U.S. She has traveled to Mississippi and Missouri with her host family, as well as have fun together back home.
“That was for Christmas and we went there for Easter Break, because my host sister (Kinlee) lives there and it was very fun,” Puhl said. “We went to Missouri, we went to Branson and that was pretty fun. My host dad and I, we saw the Northern lights in the backyard of the house in Doniphan.”
On Sunday, May 3, Puhl was excited to walk across the stage with 18 of her classmates during Giltner’s graduation ceremony.
“It was really cool,” she said. “I never participated in anything like that before. During graduation week, we did a walk around the school and that was really special, too.”
Puhl returned to Brazil on May 21 and was anxious to see her father, Carlos Eduardo, her mother, Erica, and her brother, Mathias.
“In the beginning, I wasn’t really homesick,” Puhl said. “I was doing fine, but now in the end, I’m excited to go home.”
Due to Brazil’s different school calendar, Puhl will be starting school again in June, and it will be her last year of high school. Afterwards, Puhl plans to go to college.
“I want to study law in college, but I don’t know what I’m going to specialize in,” Puhl said. “I’m thinking about being a lawyer or a delegate.”
“I did pretty much the things that I wanted to do, like going to Homecoming and the football games at my school,” she said. “Like going to Homecoming. That was so cool. Whenever we dressed up for the football games. And of course, trying the foods that they have here.”
When asked if there was something from her experience here that she wanted to take back with her to Brazil, she responded that she would like to take the school spirit and community involvement at Giltner.
“I really like how students get involved in sports games, clubs and different activities together,” Puhl said. “It makes school feel more exciting and helps people get closer to each other.”
She also said her time in the U.S. helped to develop her independence.
“You have to do things and know what to do and doubt (yourself) less,” she said. “If someone asks me (about doing an exchange), I would say do it. It’s hard, but in the end, you see a big resolution to your life.”