Submitted Photo In this Aug. 24, 1968, photo, Jila Toubia is seen with three of the four daughters of the family she stayed with as a foreign exchange student. From left are Penny, Sandi and Pam Dormont.

Jila Toubia came to Minot from Teheran, Iran, as a foreign exchange student in 1968. Now in celebration of the 50th reunion of the class of ’69, which she was a part of, Toubia will be returning to see the classmates she was close to.

Toubia decided to become a foreign exchange student after her sister had been a part of the program. When she came to the United States, a group of about 50 people met her at the airport to welcome her to Minot, an article written by the Minot Daily News in August of 1968 said.

Toubia stayed with the Dormont family. It was Wendy Dormont, who was Toubia’s age and in the same grade, who brought home the application for AFS, the study abroad program that Toubia was in.

Dormont will also be attending the 50th reunion and the two will get a chance to be reunited and celebrate together.

When asked why she’s decided to return for the big reunion, Toubia said, “Because I had the best year of my life there.”

The first time Toubia came to the United States, she had to travel nearly 8,500 miles. This time it will be much quicker because she now lives in California, her time in Minot having a big impact on her and leading to her living in the United States permanently.

The reunion will take place on Aug. 2-3, and Toubia is excited to see everyone.