Dear Volunteers, As Hurricane Irma makes its way north, support staff has been working closely with support volunteers and TDS staff in Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina to monitor all placements. All partners, whose students’ host families have left their homes and moved to different locations, have been notified. As we expect more student […]
Author: AFS-USA
Dear AFS Volunteers, Last January, over 2,000 young people across the globe began dreaming of coming to the U.S. They put their faith in the volunteers and staff of AFS-USA, and we answered accordingly. We’ve worked incredibly hard. We have shown what volunteers can do, and what U.S. citizens are truly made of. And we […]
Families decide to host an AFS Exchange Student for lots of reasons, from learning about another country to building bridges of understanding between cultures. This new video shows some of the many reasons given by host families who have opened their hearts and their homes to high schoolers from around the world. Share this Facebook […]
Have you ever wondered, “Which teams (besides mine) does my Participant Support Specialist work with?” This chart shows all Participant Support Staff’s current Area Team assignments, as well as the coverage plan until a new Support Specialist for the East team is hired. You can also view and contact the Participant Support Specialist assigned to your team on […]
This time of year we get a lot of questions about student medical cards. This is a friendly reminder that this information is available on MyAFS and ID cards (which contain medical information) can be printed in bulk from Global Link. Once all of the students have arrived, new cards will be sent directly to […]
We are excited to announce the newest member of the Participant Support Department, Alyssa Berusch! Alyssa attended the University of Albany and graduated in 2013 with a B.A. in Psychology and European history. She studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain during her undergraduate studies where she furthered her love of travel, culture, and language. After graduation, […]
Thanks to the AFS-USA Volunteers who helped get the following articles published! Learn how you can do the same by viewing the media outreach tips and resources in Help & Learning. YES Student’s Experience Exploring the U.S. Isheka Argawal, a YES Student hosted in Virginia, wrote about her lifelong dream to visit the U.S. and discussed her experience […]
Each NH cycle, some of our Semester (SM) students decide that they would like to extend their program. This year’s decision deadline for program extension is November 7, 2017 with a paperwork deadline of December 8, 2017. If you become aware that a student would like to extend their program, please email the following information […]
As our community comes together to find host families for the international students arriving this fall, it’s important for all AFS Staff and Volunteers to keep certain guidelines in mind. Don’t forget that CSIET and Department of State host family recruitment standards must be met in order to ensure the privacy and safety of all participants. […]
Now that the first wave of hosted students has arrived, it’s a good time for a reminder about our contact requirements for students and host families. Maintaining regular contact throughout the year with our participants and their host families, whether in person, by phone, or at group meetings, is key to building trusting relationships, assisting them […]