It didn’t take long for the September YES Student of the Month, Ehtesam Utsho, to enter into the spirit of his host community, Portland, OR. Portland is known as the “City of Roses” for its rose-friendly climate and beautiful rose gardens. A day after Ehtesam’s August 5 arrival from Bangladesh, while walking in his local park with his AFS host family, he came upon the oldest rose garden in the city. He spotted a sign asking for volunteers to help tend it. Undaunted by a lack of gardening experience, Ehtesam signed on to work with the Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden. At the same time, he started volunteering with the Peninsula Park Community Center, happy to serve lunches daily to underprivileged children. Since the start of the school year, Ehtesam has continued to volunteer on weekends and after school. He also helps twice a week at his local county public library. 

The YES student quickly bonded with his host family. His host mother writes, “Ehtesam is an amazing student. We are so glad to have him. He is intelligent, flexible, willing, respectful, helpful, curious, innovative and brave.”  

Ehtesam attends Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland. He has joined the soccer team, where he has made a lot of new friends and also scored four goals in the first three games.    

Congratulations to Ehtesam for jumping right into volunteer work and having a big impact in his community from the very start of his program! At last report, he had dedicated 71 hours to community service. His host family calls him “an asset to the community and an outstanding ambassador” for his country and international exchange.