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In each episode of The AFS Exchange, we sit down with AFS-USA host families, students, volunteers, and educators to hear about the profound impact of their AFS experiences. Join us as we explore the knowledge and skills needed to help create a more just and peaceful world.
As a non-profit organization, AFS-USA has been empowering people to become globally engaged citizens for over 70 years. With programs in 45+ countries and hosting students from 90+ countries, AFS-USA has been creating life-changing intercultural experiences for generations.
33 Episodes
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AFS students bring a lot to their new families and homes. But what about when they also bring the sibling experience for the first time?In this episode, we delve into the stories of only children who suddenly found themselves with siblings overnight! Parker from Massachusetts and Reese from New York grew up as only children, but in recent years, their families have embraced hosting AFS students, adding brothers and sisters from around the globe to their lives.By welcoming AFS students, famili...
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month at AFS-USA, and we're thrilled to present a special bonus episode dedicated to expressing our gratitude to our incredible AFS volunteers! They truly are the heart of our organization. In this episode, AFS-USA staff have shared heartfelt voice memos, offering shout outs to individual volunteers, teams, advisory groups, and expressing general messages of thanks.Tune in to this special bonus episode to experience the warmth and appreciation our staff has for...
Katherine, a young AFS-USA volunteer from California, is deeply passionate about activism. In 2023, she engaged in AFS-USA’s Youth Ambassador Sustainability Project, a 7-week online leadership course for emerging leaders. During this program, she established a partnership with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California. Katherine shares practical advice for aspiring changemakers eager to embark on their own journey toward effecting change.In this episode, we delve into globa...
March is host family appreciation month at AFS-USA - a huge shoutout to all AFS host families! This month, we're excited to share an interview featuring a host mother-daughter pair from Washington: Jutta and Diarra.Diarra from Senegal is having a truly culture-rich year in Seattle with the Mackensen-von Stieglitz family, who moved from Germany to the U.S. about 20 years ago. Alongside trying out new activities like ice skating, bowling, and indulging in breakfast burritos, Diarra is learning ...
In Season 3 of the AFS Exchange Podcast we've had the privilege of engaging with 28 guests across 12 episodes, each sharing impactful stories about how AFS has shaped their lives. To cap it off, we're excited to share a special episode which showcases some of the season's standout moments. And to mix it up, we've included amusing clips that didn't make the final edits, and some cultural deep dives from the season! You'll also hear from our podcast host Kate about the history of the show and s...
Mert Özer from Türkiye and Ann Ford from New Jersey are halfway through their year together as AFS exchange student and host mother. Living in a home with two very active dogs, they share an appreciation for music.From afar, they may seem like a unique pair. Mert is blind and Ann was born with a hearing impairment. But this has not stopped them from forming a close relationship. Tune in to hear about Mert’s experience in New Jersey, and the new experiences he has had on his AFS program- ...
Each AFS participant's experience on program varies, but Deb Moon and Juliette Cosh's summer in Cyprus stands out as truly unique.Deb and Juliette, along with five other AFS students, were on this small island in 1974 when the Greek Cypriot military supported a coup to overthrow the country’s president. A few days later, the northern part of the country was invaded by the Turkish. Deb and Juliette were then evacuated to Lebanon. In this episode we'll explore the typical questions about AFS ex...
Celebrate International Education Week with us as we chat with two dynamic educators dedicated to instilling global competence in their classrooms. In this episode, we explore the significance of global competence through the experiences of Hannah Arrington from Bellaire High School in Houston, TX, and Ellen Ericson from Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, IL.Both Hannah and Ellen, seasoned travelers and advocates for global learning, are eager to share their insights with students, regar...
Tatyana Sergeyeva, a Russian cultural exchange advocate, shares her inspiring journey as an AFS exchange student to Iowa in the early '90s during the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. She credits her AFS experience with helping her develop essential skills like empathy, confidence, and language fluency, which have shaped her diverse career and global outlook.Tatyana, who now lives in Chicago, has worked in a variety of industries, including academia, e-learning, publishing...
Before Dr. Rich Besser started his notable professional career, he was an AFS student in Australia. Since then, he has served as the Acting Director of the CDC, the Chief Health and Medical Editor for ABC News, and held many other impressive positions. Today, he is the President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a prominent philanthropic organization dedicated to shaping the landscape of health and healthcare in the U.S. Throughout his expansive and varied career, the skills...
The Hummel family has found a unique way to spread the word about the host parent experience: TikTok! With over 125,000 followers at their account @Josiewhite201, they have successfully shared with the world the value that an exchange student can bring to their family and community.Joselyn and Devin Hummel have hosted two AFS exchange students and are eagerly awaiting their third. During the early days of their second student's year in Missouri, Joselyn stumbled upon TikTok and was inspired t...
“Your journey with AFS starts, but it never ends, because it will be with you for the rest of your life." If you have ever studied abroad with AFS- or hosted an AFS student- you can probably relate to this! In the episode, Sarah and Tommaso share how their lives have been profoundly shaped by AFS. Discover how AFS fosters a lifelong connection to global citizenship and hear firsthand accounts of personal and professional growth. Sarah has been a host sister to a girl from Brazil, a Peace...
Dr. Mitch Besser’s experience in South Africa began on his AFS program in the early 1970s, in the middle of the era of apartheid. 50 years later, his strong connection to the country remains. Mitch’s AFS program enabled him to break free from the limitations of his small-town upbringing and explore new possibilities, ultimately leading him to establish mothers2mothers, an organization that empowers women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. After 22 years, mothers2mothers has created n...
You don’t need to go abroad for an entire year to be impacted by international exchange. In this episode, we explore the transformative power of short-term study abroad programs for high school students via 3 interviews with former participants to Spain in 2019.They share their memories and insights on living with host families, learning Spanish, and exploring the culture and history of Valladolid. Through their stories, we discover how just two weeks outside of the U.S. can broaden one's per...
Hosting an exchange student can bring a variety of benefits to host families, especially those with children, as it can change the way children perceive and interact with the world. In this episode we hear from several guests who have been either host siblings or host families with AFS-USA. Discover the benefits that hosting an exchange student can bring to your family, including teaching your children patience, compassion, and curiosity. Hear from our guests about their experiences bonding w...
Participating in an exchange program is an opportunity to have many new experiences… like finding yourself with new siblings! Living with host siblings can really add another dimension to an exchange program for a participant.From the point of view of the host family, this experience can help open their child’s eyes to a world beyond their own. These exchanges allow host siblings of any age to begin to understand that despite living thousands of miles apart and speaking different languages, w...
Since 2010, Faces of America has been AFS-USA’s premier diversity scholarship program, empowering high school students with essential global skills and a passion for making a difference.Faces of America embraces the ideals of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility by partnering with Community based Organizations (CBOs), family foundations, individual donors, AFS-USA alums, and others.This episode includes interviews with volunteers and staff who work with two CBOs: The Dean’s Future ...
In honor of International Education week, The AFS Exchange brings you conversations with the awardees of AFS-USA’s 2022 Global Awards! These awardees were recognized earlier this year for their commitment to helping the next generation achieve global and intercultural competence. We hear from Global Educator Award winner Josh Amstuz from Cleveland, Ohio about how he became interested in international education after a trip to Madrid with his father. We learn more about project-based learning ...
Jim Kiernan’s AFS experience in Germany in 1961 was an eye-opener. He had never left the northeast United States, but after just a summer in Germany he returned home with a strong desire to learn more about the world and, in his words, “live more.” In this episode, we hear about Jim’s AFS experience, his Fulbright program in Brazil, and his extensive professional career with the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. After a few years in New York, Jim moved to France to help bu...
This episode focused on the impact of AFS on one family in particular- Dana, Camille, Ricardo, and Yasemin. Dana’s mother, Camille, hosted Ricardo from Brazil in 1974.A few years later, Dana went to Turkey with AFS-USA. Yasemin was her host sister, and despite having no common language at the time, they two quickly became friends and found other ways to communicate. We all got together to hear about the role AFS has played in their lives and the relationships they still share. In AFS’s 7...
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