Katie Stemp, a Seattle-native and the Local Representative for World Heritage Student Exchange contact Fremont Universe recently to spread the word that the organization is seeking local host families for international high school students. As the Local Representative Katie helps match high school exchange students from around with world with qualifying families. She says students love being placed in Seattle, probably for the same reason we love living here!
Katie’s request struck a personal tone with me. When I was a sophomore in high school my family was approach with a similar request that lead to a wonderful experience hosting a student:
Our guest’s name was Ana and she was from Spain. Galicia actually, up in the north where they speak with a slight lisp. She had already done a brief program in the UK and was determined to improve her English. Although her program was only a month long it was a thrill to have her and it has had a lasting impact on my life.
Watching her experience my everyday world as an incredible new adventure was unforgettable. We even made a movie called “Ana de Espana” that catalog her various reactions to things. Especially the Converse store, she loved the wild and colorful Converse the best.
I visited her in Spain the following year for two weeks, she later visited me in college, and now, ten years later we are still in touch. Ana now hopes to find a job in the United States so we can visit more and she can continue mastering English.
If you or someone you know are in a position to host an exchange student I highly recommend considering it. My family and I really had never really thought about it before we were approached about hosting Ana. Needless to say I’m very glad we did.
The program my family participated in was a shorter summer program and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. For questions pertaining to the World Heritage program please contact Katie, her contact information is listed below.
– Cara, Fremont Universe Editor
More information about the World Heritage Student Exchange Program:
Host an Exchange Student
World Heritage Student Exchange Program, a highly respected, non-profit, public-benefit organization, is seeking local host families for high school boys and girls from Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy, Thailand, China, South Korea, and the former Soviet Republics. Students are already awaiting word on their host families for the 2014/2015 academic school year (or semester). Host families provide room, board, and guidance for a teenager living thousands of miles from home. Couples, single parents, and families with or without children in the home are all encouraged to apply.
The exchange students arrive from their home country shortly before the 2014/15 school year begins and each World Heritage student is fully insured, brings his/her own personal spending money and expects to bear his/her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles.
If you are interested in opening your home and sharing your family life with a young person from abroad, please call local Area Representative Katie Stemp at (206) 218-4948. Please also visit our website at www.whHosts.com.