As you probably know, a recent Wall Street Journal article (in which AFS-USA was featured) covered the notion that we could benefit from a form of student exchange right here in our own country. When I applied to be an AFS student (in 1979), the AFS-USA Domestic Program was a program option that I had explored. It was less expensive and, since I had hardly ventured outside my North Carolina mountain community, spending a semester or year in another part of the United States seemed almost as exotic as flying off to another country. I ended up going to Malaysia for a year, but the Domestic Program would have been my choice if I hadn’t received a very generous full scholarship from my local AFS chapter.

Today, travel is much more commonplace than it was when I was a high school student, but we must be careful not to assume that this is now the norm. In fact, for many families, travel remains out of reach due to the economic challenges they face.

For more than five years, AFS-USA has been offering summer programs to students from all over the world. In their current design, these two programs in suburban DC and San Diego, now referred to as Global Prep USA, offer participants the opportunity to further their English language skills while also tackling global issues and challenges like immigration, the environment, human rights, and so much more. Throw in some fun activities like a trip to Disneyland or New York City and you’ve got an amazing mix of learning and interacting with global peers.

This year, the Program Innovation Manager responsible for these programs, Jenny Davis, suggested that we open one of the programs to US participants. It certainly makes the program more appealing to our international participants if they know that they will interact with their US peers. It would also add an additional (and relevant) perspective to all of the issues being tackled during the program. As such, we decided to open the program in San Diego to our US study abroad audience.

Thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers, ten American participants arrived in San Diego last week to join the students from Argentina, Canada, Germany, Japan, and other countries. All of these students had a desire to join a program designed to help make them better global citizens. But whether San Diego was chosen because of the price or, perhaps, because their parents felt less stressed with a US destination, we’re confident that these students will have a life-changing experience that will be on par with all of our other summer program options.

Once the program has ended, I look forward to sharing more news with you. I am convinced that this program can and will play an important role in AFS-USA’s efforts to contribute to the dialogue here in our own country. I also believe that its relevance to our current national discourse (or discord) will attract more attention due to this relevance. At the same time, it provides feedback and experience that will benefit our own discussions about additional domestic program models that we might choose to offer in the future.

I’d like to offer a heartfelt word of thanks to Jenny Davis and her San Diego program staff for providing a program that receives excellent reviews year after year. We’re especially grateful to San Diego AFS Volunteer Jennifer Hinrichs. For several years now, Jennifer has been responsible for managing the day-to-day program delivery for the Global Prep USA Program. She is also largely responsible for the ongoing program development, constantly improving the content of the program and ensuring that participants have an incredibly enriching intercultural experience.

We can’t wait to further develop our outreach to US students so that we can help send even more teenagers on a path toward becoming better global citizens! If you’d like to learn more about the San Diego Global Prep USA program, visit the website here.