One year has ended and another begins. At such an interstitial time of year it seems dually appropriate both to recollect and to imagine, to leaf through the memories, looking back on what has been accomplished, while simultaneously looking at the days ahead and wondering what the coming year has in store for us.

In retrospect we have the student accomplishments, family bonds, academic achievements and friendships made in the past twelve months, and before us we have an exciting influx of new minds and personalities, new events and occasions, new surprises and expectations. I can only speculate what lies ahead, but if this upcoming year is to be anything like the one that has just come to a close we can all prepare to be continually amazed at what student exchange offers and what it produces when students and families are brought together.

 Though I am relatively new at ISE, your humble editor has seen some amazing sights in the past few months. I have seen students come to this country and flourish academically. I have seen young people who make their countries proud, and honor ours with their achievements. I have seen young people adapt, grow, learn, and become involved. And I have seen them leave, hearts a bit heavy, eyes a bit misty, knowing that they leave a bit of themselves here and that their families send a bit of themselves along.

 I have seen our Regional Coordinators, Managers and Representatives, who work around the clock to attend to our students, come together to share tips and stories, all of whom have said goodbye to at least one student with whom they will never lose contact. I have even seen their children working up the courage to say goodbye to their new brother or sister, knowing full well that they will meet again, but each unsure as when or how it will be.

 In our collective future I see the continuation of an ever reaching presence in the global community. I see students and teachers and parents and friends who understand the value of cultural and academic exchange and the present and future possibilities of one day reaching our goal of global understanding and world peace. I see people who refuse to sit idly by as others go hungry, or make war with one another, or refuse empathy.

 And through all this International Student Exchange believe we can make tomorrow a little bit better for the generations to come. Each great movement starts with a single idea, a small step, and a commitment. If you have hosted before, our global network thanks you. If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us and find out how you can be a host family for a student that wishes to see America and everything our country has to offer. And if you are a student, the world is waiting to hear what you have to say.

 We at ISE wish everyone a safe, happy,and healthy New Year, all the best to your families, friends and students, and hope for a better future through global unity.

The students of International Student Exchange and their Area Representative (Nancy Jo Wilson) put together a Pumpkin Painting Event for the children of Clifton-Clyde Area on Oct. 15, 2011. Youngsters who attended the event were invited to paint pumpkins, make ghosts, have their faces painted, play games and meet exchange students from all over the world.

20 foreign exchange students have been placed around North Central Kansas this year, and 17 of them were able to come and attend the event with the children.Thanks to generous donations from several local organizations including The Clifton American Legion who donated the Legion Hall; Sutton Family Farms from Norway, Kansas who donated the pumpkins; and Wal-Mart Super Center of Concordia, Kansas who donated a gift card to help purchase materials, the students and local children all had a chance to take part in the cultural exchange experience and spend an afternoon of fun with peers. Other donors for the event included SSC Trucking Inc. of Miltonvale, Kansas; Galen Haas; Sandy Schwab; Eva Schwab; Trisity Pope; Ashley Crowl; Sharon Hartman; and Leah Schwab.

As part of the ISE exchange program, students who participated at this event were able to log hours for ISE’s Project H.E.L.P, a community service component required of all students hosted here in the U.S. Host families of the students also volunteered to help make the day fun and eventful, lending their help and support to the students they sponsor.

The children and their family members who attended were able to meet students representing the countries of Vietnam, Thailand, Slovakia, China, Taiwan, Brazil, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Ecuador, Venezuela, Spain, Germany and Turkey. Thank you for all those that donated to help make this event possible, and thank you to Clifton-Clyde High School for giving our students a chance to study and learn in the United States.

ISE students in Corning, NY helped prepare meals for Meals on Wheels. Regional Advisor of the Evergreen Region, Lisa Bruce, organized this event to help the exchange students learn about the importance of volunteering in communities.

12 ISE students in Texas recently participated as actors in a Haunted House called the Boneyard as part of their Project HELP volunteer requirements. The Boneyard is a non profit Haunted House (http://www.theboneyard.org/ ) in Arlington, Texas.  The Boneyard's proceeds benefit Special Olympics. The kids had a blast scaring people in all different accents! The owner of the Boneyard said the kids all did such a great job and he invited them back to help out.

It was a great time for a great cause!

As the school year rolls on, ISE would like to take a moment to reinforce the positive nature of volunteering in your community.

Here are some ideas for community service in your area!

·         October is breast cancer awareness month- buy small pink ribbon, small safety pins and have the students make breast cancer awareness ribbons. Ask the students to pass them out at school, church, Wal-Mart, etc. Make it a fun evening by ordering pizza and/or having a contest to see who can make the most ribbons!

·         Have the students bring pumpkins to the local nursing home or children’s hospital for Halloween!

·         Have a coat drive! Each year people buy new winter coats, so as the cold winter months are approaching have the students, in their schools, churches, local stores, ask for old coats. Have a deadline of November 15^th to collect the coats. Once all collected, bring to a church or homeless shelter in need.

·         Don’t forget about our furry friends! Ask the students to volunteer at the local animal shelter.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

Kristene Baldwin of Utah recently invited a group of ISE exchange students to take part in a  food bank. This allows for our exchange students to understand the importance of community service and helping others. We are very proud of the positive contributions that our exchange students make every year. Congratulations to Kristene!

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our first submission of the “ISE Family Speaks Out On Exchange” blog.  Even though we are into an era of compliance issues, paperwork and regulations, we feel it necessary to tell everyone about the wonderful happenings in the world of student exchange.  We want to do that via this vehicle.  It is time that we speak out even more vehemently about all of the positive things that exchange programs bring forth.  This exciting world of exchange depends upon our students, host families, school officials and exchange representatives as well as our devoted office staff.

We should never forget the great work that each of the above does.  There are the brave students who come and work on Project Help and who work hard at becoming members of a new family.  The schools and their personnel are so important since in most cases they go far beyond the scope of their duties to help our students in their new surroundings.  The host families rearrange their entire lives for a year just to show their love and affection for a new family member.  Our office staff often put in many hours during the evenings and weekends to ensure that each student’s program goes on without a problem.  Last,  but certainly not least,  are our representatives and managers.,  These individuals work tirelessly during the entire year,  making sure that our students have the best host families as possible and who arrange so many events during the year so that our students can experience the most during their stay.

 The world of exchange does change lives and in almost all cases, the change is positive. I am convinced that our greatest shortcoming in this work is that we never have enough time to publicize all of the great work that everyone does to make our mission of “educating tomorrow’s leaders” become a reality. We want to share these many stories with you so that everyone can spread the word about the positive world of student exchange.

Our world is shrinking daily due to the latest technological happenings.  We must strive to make our world a better place to live and to know more about our neighbors around the world.  As Americans, we are proud of our culture, our families and our communities.  The work we all do is invaluable by making the citizens of the world closer to each other in acceptance and understanding of each other.

That is the main purpose of our blog.  We are so proud of the wonderful accomplishments of student exchange.  We should make sure that these positive messages are heard around the world.  Thanks to this blog, we can make this happen.

Yours in exchange,

Wayne Brewer, CEO
International Student Exchange