Memorial Plaque Dedication for Kathy Harenski at Highlands International Day

Highlands celebrated AFS International Day on May 5 to promote global education, now an annual event supported for decades by AFS volunteer Kathy Harenski, who passed away on March 2, 2025.

 

A special part of this year’s event included a memorial plaque dedication on behalf of the International Club and World Language Department to honor Kathy’s lifetime of service to global education with AFS at Highlands and her legacy of kindness, compassion and acceptance. Kathy’s 103-year-old mother, Lois Borato, and her sister, Bonnie Maginn, attended the dedication, as did fellow AFS volunteers and friends Rachael Ochoa, Andrea Adolph, Dar Frederickson, Jill Brethauer, and Highlands Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Cathy Russo. 

 

Kathy’s AFS journey began when she was an exchange student in Germany during her 1966-1967 school year at Har-Brack High School, which merged a year later to form Highlands. She and her late husband, Highlands teacher Michael Harenski, hosted their first exchange student in 1986 and officially hosted 18 students over 40 years. They also hosted many more students, including serving as the welcoming family for students until a permanent placement was found, or as the second family for students whose original placements did not work out.

 

Kathy’s family conservatively estimates that she found host families for at least 100 exchange students at Highlands and helped at least 50 students to study abroad. Current HHS Spanish Teacher and 1995 Highlands graduate Señora Proaño expressed her gratitude, saying, “Kathy had such a profound impact on me from adolescence and into adulthood. She supported me to study abroad in Brazil in 1993 with AFS at the age of 15 and inspired me to pursue travel, lifelong learning, and service.” Kathy also helped Proaño’s sister, Jennifer Fleischer Fontane, to study abroad in Brazil in 1983. 

 

The Highlands community is deeply grateful for Kathy’s service to our school and community. The plaque dedicated to her memory was placed in the Upper C Wing learning space near the World Language Department at Highlands High School. 

 

In addition to the dedication, the AFS International Day featured seven AFS students from four different school districts who participated in panel discussions about their countries, cultures, and global education with 7th and 8th graders at the middle school and World Language, Social Studies, and International Business classes at the high school.

 

The day concluded with an International Club food buffet in the high school cafeteria. Students made food from around the world, including baklava from Turkey, tiramisu from Italy, golumpki from Poland, churros from Spain, pan de yuca from Ecuador, buckeye brownies from the United States, and much more.  

 

Panel Participants

AFS Students Studying in the U.S.

AFS Returnees

Thank you to Kathy Harenski’s family, the AFS volunteers, and Dr. Cathy Russo for participating in the dedication, and to High School Principal Mr. Pat Baughman and Highlands Middle School Principal Dr. Becky Bragan for supporting this event.