BATON ROUGE — A local non-profit is looking for families to host foreign exchange students for this year. Foreign exchange programs affect not only academics but also students’ and hosts’ overall outlook on life and culture.
“They’re coming here because they want to go to homecoming, they want to go to prom, they want to sit with the marching band on Friday night and cheer on the football team,” Lacey Beuche with the STS Foundation tells UWK.
The STS Foundation, Student Travel Schools, is a non-profit program that has been giving students the opportunity to travel abroad for 30 years. They have made 12,000 students’ dreams come true in over 30 different countries. Beuche expressed to UWK that it is not only a rewarding experience for the students who travel here but also for those who encounter them and get to learn from them as well.
Having had many encounters with foreign exchange students and becoming a host herself, Beuche says, “I have such a deeper appreciation for my culture, and the things we take for granted, things as little as the yellow school bus are such a big deal to them.”
The STS Foundation still has roughly 160 kids to place nationwide. Beuche hopes to place at least 10 in the Greater Baton Rouge area with families volunteering to host the foreign exchange students. So far, five have been placed. She is still looking for welcome families for the rest. A welcome family provides a temporary home until a permanent home can be found.
The STS Foundation encourages families to consider hosting a student (meet the students now). Anyone can become a host family simply by filling out an application and meeting the legal requirements for a safe living environment. Many families think they don’t travel enough or cannot afford to bring students around the country; however, Beuche reassures families that students coming to the United States are only looking for that good old American high school experience.
“Having school spirit and cheering on a football team and going to prom, those are the huge milestones for them,” Beuche says. She goes on to emphasize the importance of school spirit and a normal high school experience to students traveling abroad, and how our culture has influenced students to further appreciate their own.
“One even told me on Memorial Day, ‘Going home, I will sing the national anthem and go to a soccer game because I see the importance of having pride in my country now’.”
Students can travel to the United States as young as 15, meaning anyone from sophomore year to senior year can study abroad. There are many agencies like the STS Foundation, allowing students to travel and families to host students coming to the United States. By allowing students to study abroad through programs like the STS Foundation, people are able to share cultures and learn from each other.
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