Chesterton football welcomes transfer students from as far away as Brazil and Germany and as close as Gary.

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

By the time the school year starts, most Chesterton football players already are armed with offensive and defensive schemes, thanks to spring and summer workouts.
Most, but not all.
Chesterton head coach Mark Peterson welcomed transfer students from as far away as Brazil and Germany and as close as Gary. All three joined the program after the semester started.
Sophomore offensive linemen Carl Schiller, an exchange student from Germany, and junior wide receiver Alex Porter, a transfer from 21st Century Charter School who moved to Chesterton, both joined the program early in the week of the first game. A few days later, senior kicker Enzo Righeti, an exchange student from Brazil, came to football for the first time. Schiller and Porter made their debuts in the JV game against Michigan City. Righeti delayed his debut because he said he didn’t feel ready yet.
The exchange students both expressed positive impressions of their temporary home.
“America is pretty nice,” Righeti said. “It seems like the movies. I arrived in Chicago, which was really nice. Very tall buildings. I liked it so much.”
Added Schiller: “In Germany, we say that Americans are more lazy and that the education system is bad but I think that the education system is even better than in Germany. It’s more organized. The people are way more kind than in Germany.”
Both of the exchange students speak fluent English. Righeti said that he has been learning the language since he was 12, and Schiller said he has studied it since third grade. Both football players cited teammates for making their transition easier.
“I have a lot of fun with (seniors) Jack Gearhart and Luke Kisala, and (juniors) RC (Soria-Gonzalez), Mace (Redman), Reece (Crooks), and Colin (McCoy),” Righeti said.
Schiller commented, “Everyone was really kind to me when I first got there, and treated me well. I like all of my teammates. I don’t really have favorites, but if I had to name one, [sophomore] Hunter [Boyd] is really nice to me. He’s a really cool guy.”
Porter’s choices: “[Juniors] Alex Roop and Elliott Mehling are pretty fun teammates.”
Beyond football, each noted how much they enjoy being at the high school.
“My favorite teacher is Mr. [Daniel] Smith (Psychology teacher),” Righeti said. “Everything is so nice. The school is so big. They have a lot of sports to play.”
Schiller noted, “I like the teachers and the students, they are really kind to me, treating me really well. Mr. Lambersie (Shop teacher) is my favorite teacher.”
Porter said, “English 11 is definitely the best class, with Mrs. Breitzka. Chesterton is way different from my last school. There is so much more that you can do. Way more clubs and way more opportunities.”
Although he made it clear how much he is enjoying being in a new country and is fascinated by it, Righeti still loves his home country. He said, “ I'm from Campinas, which is a city next to Sao Paulo. I love Brazil. They have beautiful beaches. People should come to Brazil, too.”