MONROE — Monroe High School will accept international exchange students for the 2021-22 school year. Since 1963, Monroe has hosted 156 exchange students from 49 different countries and sent 48 students abroad to 29 countries. In 2020-21, the school district did not accept exchange students due to uncertainties around the pandemic.
Normally, exchange students arrive in August and return to their home countries in late June, but the five Monroe students left early in 2020 due to uncertainties around the pandemic. Before they left, these exchange students were able to experience American high school life. Kurmanbek (Kuba) Ryspaev from Kyrgyzstan came to the United States with kickboxing skills that translated into success on the MHS wrestling team. Paulina (Pau) Thamthada from Thailand was a football cheerleader. Pau and Michiru Sekine from Japan joined the bowling team. Federico (Fede) Martinelli from Italy played on the MHS football and basketball teams. Macarena (Maca) Román Aramburu from Spain was a basketball cheerleader. She had earned a part in Shrek, the high school musical, but she had to return to Spain, and the musical was canceled due to the pandemic.
The Monroe Board of Education has always been supportive of the exchange program because of “the positive benefits to the students, staff, and the community in meeting students from other countries and in having exchange students as members of the student body of this District’s high school,” as detailed in the board policy.
The AFS Intercultural Organization is an approved program that has sponsored 149 international students in Monroe since 1963. According to afsusa.org, AFS was “founded in 1946 by AFS Director Stephen Galatti and American Field Service ambulance drivers from World Wars I and II. [...] The mission of AFS exchanges is to empower people to become globally engaged citizens by delivering meaningful intercultural experiences that provide the knowledge and skills needed to help create a more just and peaceful world.”
International exchange students are currently being matched with host families for the upcoming school year. There are many different types of host families, including families with single parents, teenagers, young children, or no children. Students come with their own spending money, full health insurance, liaison support, and cultural orientations throughout the year. The students arrive in August and depart in June of the following year. With the AFS program, local volunteers ensure that families and students have the support and tools needed for a positive experience.
For information on hosting with AFS, to see profiles of students coming to Wisconsin next year, or to apply to host, go to https://www.afsusa.org/
