The Education Travel and Culture organization places students across the country including several in Texas.
WACO, Texas — Organizers for the national foreign exchange student program, Education Travel and Culture are asking for volunteer families in the Central Texas area to take part in the foreign exchange student program.
“We have students coming over anywhere from 14-years-old to 18-years-old,” said Gia Allen, senior field manager for the program.
The students apply for the program through a sending organization and submit video testimonials, their grades and all of their health information with the hopes of getting assigned to a host family on a J-1 visa.
“We have our students take the English Language Test for international exchange students and we want to take those at the very top,” Allen said. “We don’t want to have a student that is struggling.”
Allen said they still have 78 students currently left to go through the vetting process with the US State Department, who governs all of their regulations, and vets their background checks, interviews and references.
That process will continue until Aug. 15.
“The kids can come in a little bit late to the school year and they’re ahead typically and can jump right in while we look for host families,” Allen said.
Allen said the host families have to be able to provide three meals a day, a loving home and a room for the student to stay in either by themselves or with a family member of the same gander of a similar age.
“We do our best to match students with very similar host families, families that have similar interests and things in common,” Allen said.
Allen said the students come to the country to create those relationships and get the true American experience, as they encourage the students to participate in extracurricular activities offered through their institution.
Allen said through the ETC the local coordinator is required to meet with the student in person every month, as well as meet with the host family every other month and ensure that the student is maintaining at least a C average or above in school.
“The students say they can’t believe how nice American teachers are,” Allen said. “We will work every day and night until the end of the month to get the rest of these 78 kids placed.”
Anyone interested in becoming a host family can visit the ETC website at this link to complete and application and begin the process of getting paired with a student.
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