Decades after befriending Austrian exchange student, Wisconsin man hosts her teen son

The outside of a house.
(Image credit: iStock)

If his friend's family hadn't welcomed an exchange student into their Tennessee home years ago, Jerry Gulley's life would have ended up a lot differently.

Gulley now lives in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, having moved there with his husband, James Schend, after they met in New York City. He was inspired to take the leap and go to New York after meeting his friend's Austrian exchange student, Lisi Begander. "That was the first time I knew anyone from outside my own city," he told the Kenosha News. "If it weren't for Lisi, I don't know if I ever would have left."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.