Alpena High School seeks host families for upcoming year | News, Sports, Jobs

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca
Lori Vought looks over an American Scandinavian Student Exchange brochure in her office, in the midst of putting schedules together for the approaching school year.

ALPENA — This year at Alpena High School, seven foreign exchange students are being welcomed on campus, but there are still dozens in need of host families.

Students are coming from France, Spain, Mexico and Denmark to join the 1,300-student body small-town high school.

Alpena High School has been running its foreign exchange organization as early as the 1970’s. Lori Vought, Alpena High School counselor and foreign exchange student coordinator, works with American Scandinavian Student Exchange to assist in the placement of these individuals.

She said there have been many successes with it, at least from what she’s seen since being a student at the high school in the 1980s.

“I’ve had a lot of kids (say) they make a family member friend for life,” Vought said.

As the return of classes draws closer for students and faculty, Vought said the school still has dozens of international students that need to be assigned host families.

“If we don’t have host families, we don’t have exchange students,” she said.

Therefore, students that go unchosen are told to reapply next year and go through the process again.

“So, if a family is still even interested, we got what, two or three weeks before school starts,” Vought said. “They can contact me … we can accommodate more students here.”

Although the program typically runs for an entire year, meaning students remain with their host families until the school year ends, there is also a semester-long option.

“We’re always looking for host families, … (but) it’s hard to find sometimes,” Vought said.

There are different stages that interested families need to go through before being approved for having the responsibility of a new member of the family. Vought said there are background checks on all of the individuals that live in a home, home inspections and confirming the necessary financial means are in order.

According to Host Families, any eligible Michigan resident may apply to be a host family.

“For someone who has the means and has the ability, I think it’s a great cross-cultural experience for not only the parents, but also the children as well, because we’re somewhat geographically isolated here,” Vought said. “But you know, if you don’t have the chance to travel throughout the world, it gives you a great experience just by having them come to you.”

Vought added that it also benefits students attending Alpena High School. Not all students can travel, so it offers an opportunity to learn about a different culture, combat stereotypes and preconceived notions.

“It’s a good experience, really broadens your horizons, no matter what your involvement is in the program,” she said.

According to Statista, Michigan is in the top ten for states within the United States that have the most international students as of 2022. In the academic year of 2019, Michigan had 31,408 international students studying in the education system.

According to Host Families, 2,395 of those students were attending high schools.

Vought said Michigan is one of the largest foreign exchange student host states possibly because of the generosity of Michigan citizens. She added that she gives a lot of credit to Alpena specifically because of how welcoming families have been opening their homes to students.

“It’s very generous, and I give them a lot of compliments throughout the year because it’s not always easy,” she said.

Alpena has several organizations that sponsor exchange students, Vought said. Some of those include Rotary Youth Exchange, Council on International Educational Exchange and Youth for Understanding. These organizations help provide scholarships to international students, making them eligible for a monthly stipend.

Alpena High School, like most public schools in Michigan, does not participate in F1 visa programs, opting instead for J1. According to Host Families, F1 students are required to pay tuition, and families are given a monthly stipend. However, J1 students do not pay tuition, and host families are voluntary, meaning they do not receive a stipend.

Nevertheless, that is why students are encouraged to apply for scholarship organizations to receive an income to help support their stay in the states, besides the funds they bring with them.

Vought said foreign exchange students tend to range from 14 to 18 years old. Through the program, she makes sure to provide families and students with training and many activities to assist in strengthening the experience on both ends.

She said families go on trips to Thunder Bay, Besser Museum, Mackinac Island and sometimes have some of the international students do presentations on their home countries.

“The idea is just to get kids here to have a good immersive experience in the culture, have them live with a family, become part of a family, become part of that network in the community and part of our local community,” Vought said.

The foreign exchange student program allows for both parties to try new things. Vought said as the students are getting a taste of small-town America, they are also sharing bits of their culture, food, holidays, religion and so on.

“It’s just about being in a family and being part of that family,” she said.

To go through the process of being a host family, Vought encourages those interested to get in contact with her. She will work with the host family to pair the student profile with their aligning interests and continue to be a resource throughout the year.

Vought can be reached at (989) 464-1509 or at [email protected].

“I would say, if you’re even considering it, just take a chance and talk to me, you know, there’s no obligation,” Vought said. “… I realized it’s a huge commitment of time and energy.

But if they’re even interested at all, take a chance, and find out more about it. Because you could open up your own kids to a new friend from another country, you might have a chance to go visit another country, or even just learn more about a place you never even thought about.”

This story was produced as part of the Michigan News Group Internship. Zipporah Abarca is working for WCMU this summer at The Alpena News.