Student Ambassador Exchange, a nonprofit organization that connects international students with host families, is looking to expand its network in Sussex County. Based out of Texas, with a local coordinator in Lewes, the organization connects students with families that best connect with one another.
Diedra Connolly, the program director, helps manage students in filling out applications and documents, which will eventually be posted for families to see.
“Finding a caring, nurturing family is our No. 1 priority,” Connolly said.
Whenever a family decides to go through with the exchange program, a local coordinator visits their house to see whether it is a nurturing environment. The family must provide a student with their own bed, reliable ways for students to travel to and from school/school events, and provide meals.
“We want students to become immersed in their host families’ lives,” Connolly said, while talking about how the families select the students that best match their interests.
The Buonopane family of Milton is hosting an exchange student from Thailand. After hosting a few years ago, the family created strong bonds with their students, and they continue to have relationships with them today. This coming fall, the family will host a young girl named Nina.
Mario Buonopane said they are hoping to offer a great experience to a student who will be going through a stressful culture shock.
My own experience
In fall 2023, my family welcomed Carolina Gallo, a 17-year-old exchange student from Italy. We previously met someone who hosted an exchange student and hoped to bring that joy, connection and culture into our own lives.
Carolina and I were similar in age, as she was only a year older than me. Initially, Carolina was at a different school because the school I attended was already hosting the maximum number of exchange students. However, after some discussion with the school, we got her into the same building as me.
Throughout her time here, we accomplished all of her destination hopes, especially going to New York. She also strengthened her English, and learned about the customs that we have in the United States. There are some everyday practices that we have here that she had only seen in movies, such as getting mail from the mailbox or eating at Wendy’s.
Not only did we give her the experience she had always dreamed of, but she gave us an experience we never knew we were missing. We learned how to say things in Italian, we made connections with people in Little Italy in New York, and we learned Italian recipes. Carolina especially built a bond with my Italian grandmother, who got to share recipes and reminisce memories that she had missed from her youth.
She helped our family get closer together, and was a wonderful addition to our household. We are looking forward to visiting her this summer in Italy and hope to host her younger brother in the future.
If families are interested in opening their homes to a student, they can reach out to the Student Ambassador Exchange through the email info@saeglobal.org or can learn about students through saeglobal.org.