My name is Pam Stano. I have a loving husband of 23 years Mark and an awesome 16 year old son Jericho. I am a nurse practitioner, Mark is a bank mortgage lender both full time + jobs and Jericho is a busy active Junior  at Saint Mary Central High School. We watched our friends and neighbor Tom and Kathy Knott have two GO students and other friends and a classmate of Jericho's Tom and Jeanne Young also have two GO students. We were interested, asked questions, expressed an interest ourselves someday and the next thing we knew with  a little gentle encouragement from Kathy Knott we were signed up to host a GO studnet and Father Larry announced it at a Sunday Mass in January. We were now committed  in front of the entire congregation. Fr. Larry even asked us what kind of student we would like and we got to tell him our preferences. A boy from Slovakia where Mark's grandfather lived and immigrated to the U.S as a very young man.
 
Well, life went on and we went about our daily routines and before we knew it August was here. We had some E-mail communications with Jano Kalocaj our host son and even exchanged pictures but it didn't seem real until we brought him home that night from Mount Tabor in Menasha, showed him his room and the house and that night realized that he was here in the fresh for the next 10 months! We went into having a student from Central Europe who was here to learn about servant leadership in the Catholic faith as doing a service, a giving of ourselves not expecting anything from this. Boy oh boy were we wrong!   In the 6 months that Jano has been with us he has given 5 fold of what he has received.  He has humbled us greatly in the practice of his Catholic faith and helped to make our family more diligent at practicing our faith and receiving the sacraments especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation and attending daily Mass. He is quiet yet very social, finds good in all people, is humble and polite and appreciative. The second week that he was here he helped us wash all of the windows in the house and even showed us some better ways to do it. He does household chores every week and is involved in so many activities at school and after school. He loves soccer and plays like a pro so has been asked to play on different teams. He walked into our St. Gabriel Folk Group the first Sunday that he was here with his violin. He didn't know the songs, didn't look at the notes yet played beautifully like he had been playing all of his life with us! He is funny and filled with energy. He and my son Jericho have become brothers. In my head I know that he is the son of Pavol and Marta Kalocaj from Slovakia but in my heart he has become my son too. Jano did the Go witness talk at the St. Gabriel Masses a few weeks ago and there were many laughs and tears during his talk.  
 
Mark and I know we will definitely host another GO student in the future. There is nothing to lose and so much to gain from this experience. I am very grateful for the GO program, and all of the current and past employees and volunteers. Thank you.
 
Pam Stano
GO host Mom 2012/2013