Michael Schwoll is not like most other foreign exchange students you will meet. He has spent a lot of time in the United States throughout his life. He has also traveled across the globe visiting Europe and Australia.

“The only major city I’m missing is New York City,” Schwoll said.

Schwoll is from Aachen, in Western Germany. He first came to the U.S. in 1992, and since then he has been back every now and again, mostly visiting friends and vacationing with his family.

In August 2006, Schwoll came to Indianola as a foreign exchange student at Indianola High School. His time there as a student was one of the better experiences he has had.

Dr. Joe Walt, a former Simpson College professor, was his host in Indianola and showed Schwoll and his brother, Ben, around campus.

Schwoll seems to be following in the footsteps of his brother, who also came to Indianola as a foreign exchange student in 2003 and attended Simpson from 2006 to 2008.

Ben and Walt were both big influences in Schwoll’s decision to come to Simpson.

“(Walt) told me about Simpson and the daily life on campus,” Schwoll said.

Schwoll looked at many different colleges but finally settled on Simpson because of what the college had to offer. He is an economics and international management double major.

In addition, he participates in International Student Organization and recently pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which is the same fraternity his brother was in while at Simpson.

“A lot of people have helped me and made my experience nice, including Simpson students and faculty,” Schwoll said.