Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Kari and Troy Rogers family Drew and Dalton with exchange student Zdenek Roza (center).

Becomes a Family Experience

•May 23, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

A few years ago Kari and Troy Rogers decided having an exchange student would be an enriching experience for their two sons, Drew and Dalton. The boys were old enough and involved in a lot of school activities they could share. Troy teaches science at Sullivan Middle School and Kari is a social worker in Champaign. And so, the search began.

They researched several accredited agencies online where they could review pictures and profiles of potential candidates. Zdenek Roza ( “Z”) of the Czech Republic was their choice.  “He had the same reddish brown hair as our sons as well as a love of sports,” Kari said.

Applications and profiles were exchanged and last fall Z arrived in Sullivan.

Z, as he prefers to be called, grew up in Trutnov, a town of about 35,000 near the Czech/Polish border. His parents are divorced and remarried so he is part of a blended family of five sisters and three brothers or, as he says, “five brothers if you include my two new Sullivan brothers.”      Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.