Host Families Needed For Foreign Exchange Students

For most of us who were born a US citizen, the advancements we have grown up with have become commonplace and get taken for granted, but in many parts of the world, progress takes a different pace, and there are many children world wide who would like to see what The American Dream has to offer.

“We have got 21 students across the UP this year. They have been wonderful so far. There are five in Houghton, there’s two in Hancock. They’re really kind of scattered all over the place,” said, Lauren Scherr, who is a Field  Manager for International Cultural Exchange Services.

The Baraga Area Schools teacher makes it a personal goal to share American culture with students from foreign lands, and says that often times exchange students teach us a few things as well.

Scherr said, “For the families in the community, it’s really great because now you’ve thrown in this kid who is kind of different and new and interesting, and they become the cool kid and they become popular, but low and behold, that cool popular kid is usually one who is very intelligent and likes to study so it’s a great influence on a lot of the kids that we have here as well.”

ICES is an exchange program that places students with American families and is seeking local families in the Upper Peninsula to take in a student for the school year.

“There’s some really great kids right now that I’m trying to place in the UP,” said Scherr. “I’ve got some that like hockey a lot, some that have actually coached young kids for hockey and basketball.”

The students who participate in the Foreign Exchange program have already proven themselves academically and demonstrate strong character with an eagerness to learn in the American education system.

Scherr said, “We have some right now that just want to experience cheerleading, because in some countries that doesn’t even exist. There are some who want to get better English skills so that later they can go to medical school or even go to Tech and become an engineer or go into math. They all want to come here and learn English, they all want to come here to learn French, but their individual reasons can be really different.”

“They have to do a lot to be accepted into this program,” Scherr said. “They’ve got to meet a certain skill level for English and test in proficiency. They go through a lot of hoops to be here so they are kids who are really dedicated to their studies and really want to have that all American experience for this year.

If you would like to find out more information about hosting a student who is enrolled in the program, Scherr said, “The best thing you can do is go to our official website. It’s www.icesusa.org. On the website you can meet students. It’ll give bios on the currently available students.”