Local hosts needed for exchange students

Visiting students, ages 15-18, from around the world — including Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Thailand — are seeking host families in Bartlesville, Pawhuska and other nearby towns for the upcoming 2014-2015 academic school year. Host families are needed for the fall semester and full school year.

Host families (traditional families, singles, empty nesters, etc.) serve as mentors and a home base for their student. Visiting students participate as active members of the family and integrate into their host’s daily routines and traditions just like any other family member. Hosting an international student is a great way to explore a new culture and promote a sense of lifelong learning and adventure.

“Every year the state of Oklahoma plays host to talented, top-of-their-class students with the lifelong dream of studying in America,” reports Darlene Benjamin, iE-USA’s area director. “Oklahoma’s spirit of hometown hospitality and focus on academic enrichment makes it an ideal environment to develop cultural exchange and promote international diplomacy on a local level.”

Participating families are expected to provide places for the students to stay and offer help with their mentoring and teaching opportunities, an iE-USA spokesperson said. Application deadline for host families is August 15.

The students will have gone through an application/orientation process prior to being accepted for the program. Their visits are designed to promote education through cultural exchange and academic development. Each student is responsible for his/her own spending money and full health insurance coverage.

To learn more, contact local representative Katie Robinson at k.robinson@international-experience.net or at 512-538-8080. Host families may review prospective student profiles online at iE-USA.org.