PA student earns scholarship to spend year in Germany

To increase her knowledge of the German language, Mars High School student Mia O. applied for a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) scholarship to spend a year in Germany living with a host family and attending a local high school.  After Mia was one of 250 students selected for the scholarship, she told her German teacher, who said, “Her enthusiasm for German makes me smile every day. I know she is going to have a life-changing experience.” While in Germany during the 2019-20 school year, Mia will serve as a youth ambassador, representing the U.S., while joining in educational, cultural and civic events while overseas. Read more in the Cranberry Eagle.

Local host parents share their homes, lives with exchange students

Traveling the world with children can have numerous practical challenges. Just ask Shelby Franklin of McKinleyville, CA. “My dilemma in having children up here was … we can’t afford to travel the world (with three children), it’s not practical. How am I going to bring culture here?” Her solution was to host an AFS Exchange Student, first one, then eight more over the past dozen or so years. It’s not just the exposure to another culture that excites families about hosting; it’s the close emotional connection they form with their guest. California host parent Susanna Mitchell said she was “unprepared for how much we would become attached to our exchange daughter.” Read more at the Redwood Times.

Exchange program is a learning experience for students and host families

We refer to AFS participants as exchange students, AFSers, and young ambassadors. AFS Volunteer and Host Parent Marlaine Boyd uses “kiddos” as a term of endearment for the exchange students who come to Missouri each year. “I really feel,” Boyd says, “like we’re making this planet a better place every time we bring a kiddo into this country and learn more.” Boyd’s family has hosted a total of eight times, and most of the children she’s welcomed keep in contact, and often visit. The exchange students enable her children to learn and grow from the experience, exposing them to new ideas and letting them see their local world through new eyes. Read more at the Examiner.