Meet Our Students

Katie is easygoing, warm, and known for her bright smile—especially in awkward moments. Katie loves animals (especially dogs and cats), warm weather, and spending time at the beach, where she’s happiest relaxing in the sun with ice cream in hand. While she’s adventurous and open-minded, she’ll admit she has one big fear: spiders! In her free time, Katie enjoys watching movies, shopping at the mall, exploring new places, and hanging out with friends. She is always eager to try new activities and looks forward to participating in family traditions, school events, and anything new her host family enjoys doing together. Family and friendships are very important to Katie. She values the strong support system she has at home, especially her parents, who have taught her independence, patience, and resilience. Through her exchange experience, Katie hopes to grow more independent, adapt to a new culture, and gain meaningful life experiences. She is deeply grateful to host families who open their homes and hearts and is excited to learn about American culture, daily life, and family traditions while becoming a part of her host family.

Meet 16-year-old French student Mael who lives in a small village with his father, mother, older brother and cat. Mael is close to his family and they often play board games, pool, and darts and he enjoys activities with his friends. He is currently in the 10th grade and would like to become an architect in the future. His friends and family describe him as nice, respectful, open-minded, funny, generous, clever, friendly and easy to live with. Mael enjoys walking and cycling with his active family along with playing soccer, basketball, table tennis and practicing judo. Beside playing sports, he enjoys music, cooking and traveling. He did a two-week cultural exchange to Panama and his family hosted an exchange student in 2021. While in the US he wants to immerse himself in an American family to discover American life and culture.

I live with my parents and my younger sister and brother. We enjoy spending time together, especially when it considers traveling. Every week, we go out of town to camp, fish, and cook shashlyk. In my free time, I love playing football with friends. It is not just a game - it teaches people teamwork and also keeps me active. I also enjoy studying English, listening to new music, watching comedy about different cultures, and fishing, which connects me with nature and gives me energy. I want you to know that I'm open-minded, energetic, and eager to learn something new. I love trying new things and sharing experience with others. Through this program, I want to become a bridge between our countries and cultures. I hope to share interesting aspects of Kazakhstan and help Americans learn more about my home country. Thank you for considering me as part of your family. I cannot wait to meet you and create unforgettable memories together!

I am warm, easygoing, and instantly likable. I love animals, music, and staying active, and I bring a positive, fun energy into any home. I'm dedicated to water-polo, creative with music, and I genuinely enjoy being part of family life. I'm respectful, adaptable, and eager to help out, making me the kind of exchange student who fits in naturally and contributes to a happy household. I'm excited to share my culture, learn yours, and become a true member of your family.

I'm very excited about this fantastic opportunity, and I can't wait to meet you and to know more about your culture. I hope to share my passions with you and learn many new things. I've always been fascinated by American culture: so vibrant and different from mine! I've loved fashion since I was a little girl. I love expressing my creativity through clothing, creating new outfits for every occasion. However, my true passion is horseback riding! I've been practicing this sport for five years, and it has taught me so much about discipline, patience, and love for animals. I love dogs, and I've always dreamed of having one, but I've never had the opportunity. Unfortunately, living in an apartment doesn't give me the space to keep one entertained. I hope you enjoyed this description and that I helped you know more about me! I can't wait to share my passions with you and to meet you soon. Sending a warm hug to you!

Faustine is a girl that loves adventure and trying new things. Her family has a camper that they travel in on vacations to see new places. She has a good perspective of being flexible when on these adventures! Faustine enjoys going to camps so she can try new sports and other activities. Always learning and trying something different, she doesn't miss an opportunity to tackle a new task. When she has free time, Faustine loves reading, especially romance novels, and listening to music like rap, pop or K-pop. Whatever the day brings, she finds a way to fill it with adventure! Faustine is so excited to join your family this school year!

My family is very important to me, and I am very close to my mom. I know that I can count on her in every situation! My dad is dedicated to every little thing he does, and loves dad jokes! My dad also gave me his passion for basketball. We have two dogs, a turtle, and two rabbits! So, back to basketball. I started playing when I was 6 and I never stopped. I simply love it, either I am the one who's playing or even just watching it. I also love to watch tv shows and movies and debate on them with friends or family. I enjoy listening to other people's opinion because there are so many aspects of one show. I am excited for exchange because there is a big culture difference, and it is so interesting to learn about another culture, other traditions, and other school systems! I also love the diversity of people and environments and I would be happy wherever I go. I don't eat pork, but it is not a religious thing. I am open to try new things like new sports, things that you like to do together as a family or just simple things like going to the grocery store. I hope I described myself enough so you could imagine what life could be with me!

I love spending time with my family, and we love discovering new places together! We also spend a lot of time with my grandparents, whether its going shopping or having lunch together. I have total trust in my grand-mother, and she is real confidant with good advice. I love sports, such as weight lifting, surfing, running, skiing, and hiking! I like nature and being surrounded by green trees and the ocean. I love animals, I have a cat named Cookie who is really sweet. I probably get the desire to study abroad from my mom. She was an Aupair in the US when she was my age. She often speaks about her experience and becoming her host family's 'French daughter'. I am very excited to learn the American culture, and to an experience holidays like Halloween! I would also love to share my French traditions with my host family, to learn and transmit our culture and knowledge, like cooking. Above all, this is a human experience. The experience of a lifetime--I want to create a link for life with my host family, and maybe that one day they will meet my future children. I am looking forward to meeting you!

I have two parents and a little sister. We are very close and are always there for each other. We live in an apartment building, and we do lots of activities together. For instance, me and my dad go swimming every week at our local pool as a recreational activity, even in wintertime. During summer, we go on a lot of bike rides, particularly in the mountains where we have the best time. We also play a lot of ping pong. With my mother and sister, we often walk around town and discuss various topics or play badminton at our local park. Through the years, I have developed many passions and interests. First off, I really love geography. This subject is deeply rooted in me and I always strive to excel at it by going to national competitions and participating in various online courses. At the same time, I enjoy reading books. I particularly enjoy reading about scientific discoveries, expeditions, and historical events. My main plans for the future are to graduate high school and continue my studies in the field of Earth Science, whether in my home country, or abroad. I want to help and cooperate with people to find solutions to problems affecting our planet like climate change and biodiversity loss. I would also want to volunteer more and support campaigns and events that help protect our community.