First exchange student returns for visit

Manolo Valenzuela, a resident of Calamma, Chile, returned to Wellington on Saturday, Sept. 20, with his wife, Sonia, for a brief but heartwarming reunion with his host family, Harrison and Fran Comstock along with some of their children, Peg from San Diego; Tom from Bozeman, Mont., and Janet Krelko and her daughter, Rebecca, from Westerville, Ohio.

They were able to renew acquaintances and relive some of the activities that took place in 1969-70 when he first arrived in Wellington.

Manolo graduated from Wellington High School in 1970 and after returning to his native land completed college there and later obtained his master's degree and doctorate in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

He then taught at Penn State University for a short while before returning to Chile to accept a position at the largest copper mine in the world operated by Codelco, a Chilean National company where he is still employed.

Manolo and Sonia have been married for many years and have three children: Claudia, who teaches in a bilingual school in Santiago, and sons, Rodrigo and Javier, both enrolled in college there as well.

At the time of his first arrival in Wellington he was the first foreign exchange student to come here and was sponsored by the American Field Service (AFS) which was extremely active at the time and brought several other students from around the world to the Wellington schools over the succeeding years but has faded from the local scene.

Over the intervening years the Comstocks have kept in touch with Manolo and visited his country several years ago as well.