In April 2007, Roeper‘s Head of School, Randall Dunn; and Admissions Director, Lori Zinser; were flying back from a conference in Denver. Lori found herself seated next to Victor Baron, a neurobiology major at the University of Michigan who would soon graduate. Lori and Victor spoke non-stop during the three-hour flight. Victor described the fascinating lab work he was doing at Ann Arbor; and Lori spoke of the amazing school where she worked as Director of Admissions. Lori learned that while Victor had been educated in Canada and in the United States, his parents were Filipino, and had returned to the Philippines with Victor’s two youngest siblings in 2002.

At the end of the flight, Lori introduced Victor to Randall Dunn. The two engaged in conversation all the way down to the baggage area, and both left with a true appreciation of the other. Victor told Lori and Randall that he had hoped his younger sister, Patricia, would have an opportunity to study in the US, at a school like Roeper. Victor had known a fellow U-M student, Rachel Feldman, who had attended Roeper and who had struck him as a really interesting person.

Two months after Lori and Victor met, Patricia and her mother traveled to Michigan to attend Victor’s graduation ceremonies. During their weeklong visit, they spent several hours at The Roeper School. They met with Lori Zinser and faculty, toured the Middle/Upper School campus and learned more about the school. Thus began a 2½ -year e-mail correspondence among Victor, his sister Patricia, and Lori Zinser.

As part of its philosophy of educating its students to become global citizens, Roeper has a long history of sustaining an international scholars program. When Patricia graduated from high school in the Philippines this past spring, she learned she had been awarded an international scholarship to attend Roeper for 2009-2010. In July, she left for Michigan to spend time with Victor in Ann Arbor, and to search for a family who could host her during her year at Roeper. As Victor was planning on soon moving to the Philippines to begin medical school there, Patricia needed a host family to realize her dream of attending Roeper.

As August approached, Lori Zinser sent out an email to a few Roeper families whom she thought might be interested in hosting. The email included information about Patricia and her family, as well as a letter written by Patricia about why she wanted to come to Roeper.

One of the families who received Lori’s email was the Gamalski-Lutz family. Lori Lutz, a current parent, Roeper alumna and alumna parent, and past Chair of the Board of Trustees, was struck by Patricia’s letter.

She forwarded it to Greg, her husband; and daughters Clara, a University of Michigan sophomore studying in Paris; and Eleanor, an active junior at Roeper, who was attending a summer college program for high school students at Stanford University.

As Lori Lutz put it: “While we had been asked in earlier years about hosting, there was something about the confluence of events that made it seem like this was the right time…and right student. On a macro-global level, hosting seemed like a great way to act out the Roeper philosophy. On a much more personal level, as parents, we knew what it felt like to send off our child to another country, hoping she found a nice, warm family to live with while studying.”

“But more than anything, there was something about Pat’s letter that touched us; she just sounded intelligent, dedicated, interesting, open, cheerful, warm, and kind. I liked, too, the idea that not only did she want to come to the U.S. for the year, but that it was Roeper that drew her.

“And with our family’s broad and deep connection to the school, it just seemed like the right fit. The day I called Lori Zinser to tell her we, as a family, had decided we wanted to go ahead with this, she called Victor and Patricia to let them know. She knew they would be so happy and would want to immediately call us. It was such an easy, happy phone call. As further proof of the rightness of this, Pat told me that it was actually her birthday that day—and that this was the best birthday present she ever received!”

“Pat has now been here for 5 weeks and it has been already been such an amazing experience. She is enthusiastic about everything, from visiting Eastern Market and the Downtown Riverfront Walk, to sitting at home watching an old movie. We are all enjoying having her as part our family and especially learning about Pat’s family and the Philippines. She is proud of her Filipino heritage. This shows in her knowledge of the country, its history and politics, and the easy way she has of sharing all of this with us. She has even been trying to teach us a little Tagalog (one of the primary Filipino languages), and we are grateful for her patience as we are rather slow learners!”

In addition to maintaining a full load of demanding classes at Roeper, Pat has joined the newspaper, the diversity club, the school’s Amnesty International Chapter, and a group of high school girls who are mentoring younger girls. While Michigan athletic eligibility rules prohibit her from playing in varsity volleyball games, she nonetheless attends all the practices just to improve her skills and to enjoy the game with the girls who are on the team.

Patricia has also joined the Youth Group at St. Thomas More Catholic Church where she attends Mass every Sunday, but also tasted and enjoyed her first gefilte fish and matzoh ball when Lori and Greg (who enjoy an interfaith marriage) hosted dinner for the Jewish New Year.

Patricia remarks: “I still pinch myself to make sure that it’s not all a dream. There are so few who get this wonderful opportunity to experience a new country and culture. I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to everyone who’s helped make it happen, from those at home who believed in me to everybody here who gave me a chance. I am having the time of my life! I’m so happy to belong to such an amazingly supportive community and family. “I’m able to get involved in all sorts of things with all sorts of people. I just can’t wait to see what happens next!”

The Roeper School is a co-educational independent day school serving gifted children from over 60 communities in southeast Michigan, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 and is an equal opportunity institution.

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