Commissioner Santamaria Hosts Russian Exchange Student at County Commission Meeting

September 16, 2009

At the September 15 Board of County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Jess Santamaria hosted the visit of a Russian exchange student, Ms. Irina Khisamova, who is studying for one year in Palm Beach County under the auspices of a U.S. State Department cultural program.

The 15-year-old student spent the morning observing the board meeting and followed the course of county business along in her copy of the agenda. She was accompanied by Colonel Giuseppe Trifiletti, USAF Retired, who is a resident of Wellington.

As part of her study program in the United States, Irina must prepare a paper on what she learned about being a leader while spending the day with leaders in county government. Her hometown in Russia is Yarolslavl, a city of some 614,000 people about 150 miles northeast of Moscow.