Across Oceans: Nikolozi Chikobava’s Journey as an Exchange Student

Back home in Georgia, junior Nikolozi (Niko) Chikobava would wake up at 8 a.m., rent an electric scooter to attend school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., have basketball practice, and sleep at around 11 p.m. If he had time, he would even hang out with friends.

“Georgia is a small country. The capital, Tbilisi, is a small city, and everyone knows everyone. I had a friend who lived 10 seconds away from me,” Chikobava said.

Chikobava is a 2025-2026 ASSIST Scholar, currently undertaking a study abroad program at St. John’s School (SJS). His previous school, Oakleaf School, had a partnership with two study abroad scholarship programs: one to the United Kingdom and one to the United States (U.S.).

“The second [program] is called ASSIST, [which] gives … the opportunity to study in the United States. So, I chose ASSIST because the U.S. has been my dream country,” Chikobava said.

To get here, he had to go through an intensive application process which included multiple writing portions, an English exam and an interview stage. Especially for that last step, he thought the interview went really well for him. If students were accepted, they would then be assigned to an ASSIST-affiliated school in the U.S., like SJS.

Members of SJS's International Club at their first meeting to welcome Nikolozi Chikobava. Back row, from left: Ailey Takashima, Angela Mu, Lillian McEnany, Vivienne Fox, Kaitlyn McCain, Riley Canonico, Sophia Gidi, Madeleine Stelmak, Arabella Mordy, Catherine Dick, William Burgess, Mabrey Stokes, Aurelia Shaitelman, Tatiana Duque, Creighton Garcia, Amelia Guinn; front row, from left: Arjuna Alagarsamy, Nikolozi Chikobava, Emily Xie, Anjilea Holm, Journey Zulueta, Reese Williams, and Elizabeth Phillips. (Photo: Aline Means)

He was awarded the scholarship in February and found out he was coming to SJS in April. Chikobava has been staying with a host family and is enjoying the experience. At first, he was a little skeptical about staying with a family. Yet, after he called them, exchanged information and met them, he said he was really excited to meet them and see what high school is like in the U.S.

Since arriving in Houston, he’s already noticed differences between Georgian and American culture. He said the values differ, specifically in the way friends treat each other and how they show love to one another.

“It feels more brotherly [in Georgia]. [In America], it’s like a friend. It’s hard for Americans to show love,” Chikobava said.

Additionally, in Georgia, he couldn’t choose his classes at school. Rather, students would be taught all the basic knowledge at an intermediate level unlike students at SJS, who have a variety of classes and levels of courses to choose from.

Chikobava is taking AP Computer Science, his favorite, among other subjects like AP English Language and Composition and Spanish.

On top of classes, Chikobava’s involved with St. John's boys basketball team. Ever since his grandfather began taking him to practice when he was 8, he has loved playing the sport and has been attending morning preseason practices.

He stays connected with his family through WhatsApp and calls his friends daily, and in the future, hopes to finish his high school journey in the U.S.

“I feel really welcome here… It’s my top priority to stay in school in the U.S., but I have to figure that out. Take one thing at a time,” Chikobava said.