Harwood student to spend sophomore year in Brazil

June 2, 2026  |  By Claire Pomer  |  Correspondent

Harwood student Campbell Skates of Waterbury plans to spend sophomore year studying in Brazil. Photo by Claire Pomer

Campbell Skates is one of two Harwood students participating in a study-abroad exchange opportunity next year.

Currently a freshman, Skates lives in Waterbury Center and will be living and studying in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil, next school year.

Skates found out about the opportunity to study abroad just weeks into the school year, when it was advertised through the schoolwide announcements. “I went to school in Mexico briefly,” she

said, along the Yucatan peninsula, “and I thought that it would be a good opportunity to travel by myself.”

She applied through the Rotary Youth Exchange program in late autumn, which required “lots of documents and writing about yourself,” including a statement detailing why she wanted to participate in the exchange. She also provided pictures of her house, her family, and her everyday life to let her host family “get an idea” of what she was used to. The application was due in December, and she heard back “pretty fast” regarding her status.

Top destination

As part of the application process, Skates ranked several countries where she’d like to study abroad, and she placed Brazil at the top. “I was mainly focused on Brazil,” she admitted. “It looked really warm, the people seemed very nice, and it’s huge, so there’s so much to discover.”

She learned that she would be spending her sophomore year in Brazil in early January, not long after submitting her application. In April, she received “a giant package in the mail” containing several documents, including her address for next year.

Skates will be staying in Campos dos Goytacazes, a city to the north of Rio de Janeiro. “From what I’ve seen,” said Skates, “it’s mostly a mix of city life and beaches.” 

She has already been in contact with her first host family and her new school. Students staying for the entire school year, as she will be, typically have two or three host families to gain more experience of the area they’re visiting.

Best option

It’s not entirely clear if Skates’s credits from her Brazilian school will transfer back to Harwood Union upon her return. She’s nervous about potentially needing to repeat her sophomore year, but is working with her counselor at Harwood to determine her best option.

Skates is especially excited to hike, experience authentic food and music, and to “meet people.” Her host family “seems really nice,” with several kids, and she is looking forward to staying with them.

She said she is most nervous about immersing herself in a Portuguese-speaking community. Prior to applying for her exchange, she had not had any experience learning Portuguese. She’s dived into online courses, but she says she still “gets mixed up” with the Spanish she knows. “The first few weeks will be really hard,” she said.

Despite her nerves, she’s still looking forward to the experience. “I don’t know how I couldn’t be excited,” she said.