CASPER, Wyo. — When school starts back up in the coming weeks, students throughout Wyoming will be joined by dozens of teenagers from across the globe, as Wyoming welcomes international students through the International Cultural Exchange Services program each year.
Last week, a handful of students from across Europe arrived at the Casper-Natrona County International Airport before heading off to host families in Casper, Glenrock and Douglas. They join a number of ICES students already in Wyoming for the coming school year.
“All the schools in the state take part,” program coordinator Sam Knight said.
The foreign exchange students who come attend school in Wyoming often join athletic teams and take part in other extracurricular activities.
“A lot of the kids who come don’t typically get the opportunity to do athletics at school,” ICES regional administrator Gail Knight said. “Because of that, a lot of the kids who come will go and join a team. Others will join clubs, the school band or any number of fun things.
“American culture is so different from what they’re used to. They want to come and experience America — do American things.”
Sam Knight added that traveling with host families is typically another highlight for visiting students.
“We really try to show them as much of the country as we can,” he said. “All of the things nearby are a must. We know we’ve got to take them to Yellowstone, the Tetons; we’ve got to take them to Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower — stuff like that.”
And while the experience is certainly rewarding for the students visiting from overseas, Gail Knight added that it’s equally rewarding for the host families.
While the students learn about America and American culture, host families are able to learn about the culture of the students they’re housing.
“I’ve learned so much about other cultures and countries through this program,” she said. “There’s a richness of culture that you wouldn’t get from simply reading about it or even from visiting as a tourist.
“Of the cultures I’ve been able to learn about through the program, the Czech Republic is probably one of the most interesting ones.”
The program is rewarding in other ways too, Gail said.
“These are relationships that will last a lifetime,” she said. “These kids join the family like they’re your son or daughter. You are essentially their parent and everything that entails for the whole school year. … There are students we’ve hosted that we stay in contact with to this day.”
Wyoming is part of a five-state region that also includes South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Utah, though Gail said the majority of the foreign exchange students in the region each year come to Wyoming.
“We don’t have as big a reach in the Dakotas as I’d like, and we’re looking to rectify that,” she said.”
Gail said that though ICES is currently still looking for host families for the 2023–24 school year in other cities throughout the state, the quota in Casper has already been filled. However, in a matter of months, ICES will begin accepting applications for the 2024–25 school year.
“Beginning in October, we’ll start looking for families for next year,” she said, “and once families apply and pass the obligatory background check, they can start getting to know their student right away; they don’t need to wait until next year when the student arrives to start talking to them.”
Families that want to get involved and host a foreign exchange student, either this year or in the coming year, can learn more about the program online here.
