Ark Valley News - Reunited: Rural VC woman welcomes former students

Nine former international students gathered last week for a reunion at the Wag'en Tail Ranch property owned by Stacy Miles in rural Valley Center.

Reunited: Rural VC woman welcomes former students
By Matt Heilman
Last Updated: July 30, 2014

Stacy Miles has stayed in touch with her international friends she's made over the course of 27 years. And two years after the diverse group last celebrated a reunion at Miles' rural Valley Center property, it was time for another party.

On July 18, Miles hosted the 2014 International Exchange Party, reuniting nine of the former international students who, since the late 1980s, have stayed at Miles' property while they studied at Valley Center High School or furthered their educations and improved their English at local colleges.

The students, several of whom have gone on to start families and find career success in their home countries, represent several nations including Mexico, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Albania, South Africa, Brazil, Germany and England.

Since 1987, former students have taken turns living with Miles and helping her with chores, including work at the Wag'en Tail Ranch on her property on West 69th North. Miles opened the boarding and training facility for dogs in 1992 with help from Rico Hernandez, a former international student from Tampico, Mexico who lived with Miles for five years, completing high school in Valley Center and four years of college at Butler Community College and Wichita State University.

The nine former students in attendance at the July 18 party at the Wag'en Tail Ranch included seven men from Mexico and one each from Germany and England. The group included Miles Hudson, a science textbook author from Durham City, England. Hudson was the first student to stay with Miles in 1987. Last year, in a break from his usual work, Hudson displayed his talent for fiction writing with the publication of his novel, "The Cricketer's Corpse," a story he shared with Miles on his recent visit.

Also attending the July 18 party was Miles' friend, Carolyn McGinn, a VCHS alum and state senator who is running for a seat to represent north Sedgwick County on the county commission.