On Saturday, Aug. 13, Ledyard High School teacher Deb Evans received an emergency phone call. An exchange student needed a place to stay, and quick. “There’s been a tragedy in his first family,” said Evans, a regional coordinator for the PAX Academic Exchange Program.
That's how Luka Joranovic from Serbia found a temporary home with Evans and her family in Ledyard.
Meanwhile, Evans searched for a family that could take Joranovic in for the year. She is believes she has found him a home with the Fortner family of Mystic.
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“His original family just ran into some unexpected health problems and was not able to keep him,” she said. “I don’t know the full details… It was just so quick and sudden. He never even got to go to their house.”
The students had arrived in New York for three days of orientation. On the fourth day, the visitors all left for their homes, except for Joranovic, who suddenly had nowhere to go.
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Luckily, there was Evans. “He’s been so understanding, and he’s been so kind and patient,” she said of her temporary guest.
Evans began trying at once to place him in a Connecticut home. “We were trying and trying to find him a home,” she said. “Lo and behold, a family from Groton called and they were all set, but that didn’t end up working out. But they really wanted to help with Luka, so they did this All Points Bulletin all around Groton.”
Late Sunday night, Evans received a call from a Mystic family. If all goes well, the family will give Joranovic a home for the school year.
“I’m sad because he’s leaving my home, but I still get to be his coordinator, and he’s staying in Connecticut… where I’ll be able to see him. I couldn’t be happier.”
Joranovic, too, is pleased.
“I’m very happy,” he said. He would earn his high school diploma this year at Fitch High School. He has been a swimmer for six or seven years, he said, and looks forward to joining Fitch’s swim team.
He’s also enjoying helping Greg Evans build a second story on his garage. “It’s my first time to build a garage,” he said.
Nice rebound
Luka is not PAX’s only success story. By Aug. 9, Evans had been able to place only one student in and around Ledyard. Since then, seven more have found homes in the area.
The visitors hail from Germany, China, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and France. Joranovic makes a total of nine students. The rest are scheduled to arrive on August 26.
“It’s crazy, crazy, crazy, in a good way,” Evans said. “I have a thousand more gray hairs. I haven’t slept or been able to do anything apart from making phone calls, doing reference checks."
Evans wished to thank Patch and the local press for helping to spread the word about PAX.
