Mouth of the River

From the cross-country course to the riding arena, Clemence Chopard (‘26), a French exchange student, has already captured the hearts of her teammates and the community at Oyster River High School (ORHS) in the few short months since she first arrived in America. 

While her quick acclimation to an entirely new culture is impressive, it hasn’t been easy. From leaving friends back home, to realizing that life in United States isn’t exactly like the movies depict, uprooting your entire life to move across the world, is a difficult transition for anyone. However, Chopard welcomes the challenge and shares her enthusiasm for new experiences. “I wanted to improve my English because I really love it,” she says. “I’ve [also] always been attracted to America.” 

Even though moving to a new country is no easy feat, Chopard highlights some perks she’s noticed. “My schedule is way better here,” she says. Chopard shares how the transition from going to school 6 days a week, to just 5, has allowed her to devote more time to doing the things she loves, like spending time with her friends, and participating in sports.  

In her time at ORHS, Chopard has already become an indispensable member of the Oyster River girls’ cross-country team.  “She is so enthusiastic and supportive. Every single rep of any workout she’ll be waiting at the finish line with both of her hands up ready for a double high five,” says Neely Roy (‘26)  

 Her encouraging personality and baking skills have touched the hearts and taste buds of the entire team. From countless high fives and words of encouragement during runs, to adjusting her recipes to accommodate allergies, she’s truly become a valued presence to everyone. Roy says, “She always has a huge smile on her face. She’s always cheering everybody on, and I think she’s really brought a lot of joy to the team.” 

In addition to cross country, Chopard has also become a strong member of the local Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) team, despite equestrian teams in France having a very different approach to riding than those in the United States. “I think she’s had a really good attitude about the change of discipline,” says Nora Robbins (‘26), one of Chopard’s IEA teammates. “We do things a little bit differently at our barn, so I think her attitude and willingness to participate in everything has been really impactful on everybody.” 

Chopard’s warm demeanor also left an impact on her host family. Ike Williams (‘26) speaks to her bubbly personality and shares how valued she is within the household saying, “Clemence is genuinely becoming part of the family.” His sister Jillian Williams (‘28) shares similar sentiments. She says, “It’s like having a sister who’s more my age, just to hang out with and spend time with.” 

In addition to being her host siblings, both also happen to be Chopard’s teammates as well: Jillian in cross country and Ike in IEA, sharing Chopard’s love for horses, along with the rest of the family. 

When starting the process of finding an international student to host, one of the things that led the Williams to focus on Chopard specifically was her devotion to horseback riding. As a family of equestrians, they were passionate about choosing an exchange student who shared their interests and could thrive in an environment strongly built on riding and caring for horses. Chopard speaks to her own lifelong passion. “My mother is also a horseback rider, so I’ve been into it since I was born,” she says. She shares her delight in the fact that she can connect to her life back home by being surrounded by horses every day even when she’s thousands of miles away from her own.  

She’s also been able to bring her extensive knowledge and experience to the table in her temporary home, helping the William’s manage their own horses. “Clemence has had a lot of really interesting insight, so a horse that’s historically presented a lot of challenges to us has been doing really well lately,” says Ike. 

From her new home, to school, to practice, Chopard spreads contagious joy everywhere she goes. If her short time here has shown anything, it’s that supportiveness and positivity are qualities that transcend country boundaries, and cultural differences.  

Chopard’s friends, family and teammates are looking forward to sharing her presence for the next several months, until she completes the school year with the ORHS class of 2026. 

-Jahrie Houle