If there was just one story that truly encapsulates why ISE believes in giving back, it would be the story of Amanda*. For years, Amanda lived a life typical of other youngsters in her Kentucky town — playing outside, riding bikes in her neighborhood, and meeting new friends at school. But not so long ago, […]
Milos Prokic, the Chief Operations Officer at International Student Exchange (ISE), has seen his fair share of the world. He’s worked and studied in Canada, Ukraine, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, France, and the United States, and traveled to plenty of other countries as well. That said, at no other time was Milos working with so […]
For many international students, few holidays feel more quintessentially “American” than Thanksgiving. Many Thanksgiving traditions revolve around cultural mainstays like football and comfort food, leading many international students to feel particularly excited about experiencing Thanksgiving with their American host family. What are the types of experiences international students look forward to, and how can your […]
If you didn’t know David and Sherry Rollins personally, you would be forgiven for thinking the couple had one of the largest extended families you’d ever seen. After all, nearly a dozen teenagers have come in and out of the Rollins household over the past decade, each staying in their home for just a handful […]
Any International Student Exchange area representative will tell you that this job isn’t for everyone. Area representatives are a key part of ISE’s mission to bring cultures and people together through study abroad, which doesn’t come without its challenges. Superb time management, a great work ethic, and a knack for de-escalating stressful situations are just […]
Being an ISE Area Representative might be a part-time job, but it often feels like it requires full-time energy. Juggling the many tasks associated with recruiting new host families, working with students, and managing everyday issues with current hosts can feel overwhelming for new reps. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to better manage your […]
Ideally, host families and their exchange students have relationships built on open communication and honesty. But sometimes, coming into a new family’s home can cause students to feel unsure about how to approach unfamiliar or confusing situations. Add in a language barrier and cultural differences, and sometimes the communication breakdown is hard to mend! Many […]
Brenda Hendrickson can hardly remember the day she became an area representative — after all, it was nearly a decade ago. She recalls seeing an advertisement on Craigslist, and can vaguely remember the job description: to help connect foreign exchange students with American host families, and all that entails. Though the specific details about the […]
Studying in the United States can be an enormously eye-opening experience for a teen who has spent most or all of their formative years immersed in the culture of their home country. But for many incoming exchange students, their first experiences in America are certainly not their first interaction with American culture. After all, one […]
For Jennifer Miller — an elementary school social studies and geography teacher in Jackson County, Indiana — the exchange student experience began well before she would become an educator. During high school, Jennifer met an exchange student from Germany that would quickly become a close friend. Looking back, she remembers how her early experiences […]