AFS-USA Celebrates Youth Talk Program Success
We are proud to share recognition of and gratitude for the Colorado Rockies Area Team volunteers and key community partners…
Impact Articles
From One Student to Thirteen: How Hosting Changed Our Family Forever
By Christina Morales Wood, AFS-USA Host Parent and Board Member Being a host family was never on our agenda. But…
What Happens When You Say Yes to Hosting an Exchange Student: Meet the Dolan Family
The Dolan Family, currently living in Pennsylvania, have hosted three students: Hana from Japan, Kika from Slovakia, and Putt from Thailand, who they call ‘lifelong family…
Voices for Exchange: Reflections from My First Advocacy Day
By Jen Cusick, Director of Alumni Relations, AFS-USA Attending Advocacy Day was both exciting and a little nerve-wracking. It was my first…
Geert’s Legacy: How One AFS Exchange Changed My Life Forever
The following was written by AFS-USA volunteer and host parent Matt Lewis. In the summer of 1973, AFS exchange student…
A Short Time, a Big Connection: Our Experience as a Welcome Family
In late summer of 2017, my husband and I felt compelled to bring an AFS Exchange Student to our community…
How YES Students Made Our Family Grow
My husband Ben and I do not have children. We both come from small but loving families, where we are…
Finding My Voice Through YES: A Journey of Music and Friendship
I’m Mert Özer from Türkiye, a YES alumni from 2024. Participating in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program…
How Hosting Mudy From Tanzania Changed Our Family Forever
We began hosting Mahmoud “Mudy” Hassan Omar from Tanzania in the fall of 2024 through the YES (Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange…
Beyond 10 Months: The Lasting Impact of YES
When I was 15, I left Türkiye to spend a year in Florence, South Carolina, as a YES student. At…
Why the World Still Needs the YES Program
My name is Sharona Raghoebir, and I had the privilege of being a YES exchange student from Suriname to New…
YES Opened My World — An Open Letter on Why Exchange Matters
My name is Songül Düger, and I am a proud alumna of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program (2015–2016,…
A Year That Changed Everything: My KL-YES Experience
My name is Jasmin Kojjeh, a proud alumna of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program. I participated in…
YES Gave Me a Family, a Future, a Voice
I am Janet Sam-Kobba a current YES alumna from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I was part of the YES 2018…
The Lifelong Value of International Student Exchange
The following article was written by Dennis Tierney, support and volunteer coordinator in the AFS-USA Florida Area Team. I was…
From Tanzania to the US: How the YES Program Shaped My Journey of Leadership and Service
It was in August 2016 when I landed in the United States of America as a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and…
The Year I Ate My Way Back Home
From midnight Oreo runs to durian in the mountains, Hamza Awaisi’s YES Abroad year in Indonesia was a journey from…
From Kenya to Michigan: How the YES Program Changed My Life
Hi! My name is Brian and I am a proud YES alumnus from Kenya. Ever since I was selected for…
AFS-USA New Board Members: Focus on Strategic Priorities
New York, NY, June 23, 2025 AFS-USA, the largest partner in a worldwide network of non-profit, volunteer-based international education organizations, has welcomed four new members…
What We Do Matters – Now More Than Ever
By Tara Hofmann, President & CEO, AFS-USA In a time of growing division and uncertainty, the work of building understanding…
Why I Give to AFS-USA: An Interview with William (Bill) R. MacIntosh
Bill MacIntosh, an AFS-USA alumnus who participated in an exchange program to Brazil (Brasil in Portuguese) from 1964-1965, recently sat…
Colorado Student Receives AATF Scholarship
Bella C. from Colorado Receives AATF & AFS-USA French Summer Language Camp Scholarship We’re excited to announce the recipient of…
Janice Mills and an AFS 50th Year Reunion!
In this article, Janice Mills, an AFS-USA Alumna who went to Sweden with AFS in 1972, shares her experience during…
The Love Language of AFS
AFS programs have a magical way of bringing people together; across oceans, borders, languages, and cultures, participants often can’t help…
7 Simple Ways to Pass Peace Forward
You don’t have to spend lots of money or make a grand gesture to have an impact. In fact, small…
Blog, Study Abroad Articles, Host Family Articles, Volunteer Articles, Educators Articles, Impact Articles, Alumni Articles
My Multigenerational AFS Family
It’s 2018 and I’m sitting in my grandmother’s sunny Ohio kitchen. We just went to two estate sales and are…
Spotlight On: Terri Windsor, AFS-USA Volunteer and Host Parent
Terri Windsor is an AFS-USA Volunteer and host parent in the Youngstown, Ohio area. In this article, she shares how…