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ECC seeks host families for exchange students

Exchange students coming this fall

Elgin Community College needs host families for exchange students in its growing homestay program.

There is a waiting list of international students registered for this fall seeking homes.

The immersion program offers full-time international students an opportunity to experience American culture through day-to-day interactions and helps them improve on English language skills where needed, said Natalie Escobar, ECC program coordinator.

ECC started placing international students in private homes in 2013, starting with eight students that fall.

"So far, we have placed 47 students over the course of the last three years," Escobar said. "Right now, we are anticipating 15 to 20 students, hopefully more (for this fall)."

Students live with a family for a predetermined amount of time, are provided with meals and, if needed, transportation. The homestay fee, which covers basic expenses, is $600 monthly without transportation and $800 monthly with transportation. Students pay their hosts directly.

The college has 23 active host families, many of whom are able to accommodate more than one student. Eight students have been placed with families over the summer, Escobar said.

"The number of students that are interested in the program definitely exceeds the number of host families that we have," Escobar said. "It's pretty much ongoing (need) since we have students that arrive at various times throughout the year."

What it's about

ECC's homestay program also provides local families an opportunity to learn about new cultures with the goal of building bridges. Students in the program come from China, India, Nepal and Vietnam.

Host families also come from diverse family structures - people with children, empty-nesters, single individuals, same-sex couples, and multigenerational households.

To qualify, host families must have a welcoming attitude toward international students and undergo an annual FBI background check for anyone in the household 18 or older. The college reimburses the host family for those charges.

"They must be sensitive to the challenges associated with living in a foreign culture and also with students learning a second language," said Escobar, who has hosted students twice in her home with five children and father living together.

When students arrive, hosts typically will help them open bank accounts, set up cellphone plans and purchase necessities, such as toiletries and school supplies. Hosts might also take students sightseeing, to community events or on road trips, or arrange special activities.

Primarily, such homestay programs help international students, who typically might stay in college dorms or apartments, not feel a sense of disconnect from the larger society.

"It's better the students who come here have the family feel so they have a longer-term connection to the United States," said ECC President David Sam, who was an exchange student at Eureka High School in central Illinois 41 years ago from the West African nation of Ghana.

"The program offered me the opportunity to have a lifelong relationship with an American family," Sam said. "I have host sisters, host brothers and host parents, and for the last 40 years I have been linked to them. It gave me a better understanding and insight into the American family life."

With more international students coming to study at ECC, Sam hopes to see the homestay program grow.

"The world is so small, interconnected. ... It is important that students who graduate have some international exposure," he said. "Having international students here internationalizes our curriculum and our campus. It's an integral part of a multicultural education."

Escobar said community colleges will be able to attract more students, if they have homestay programs.

"When exchange students come, they will go back to their college and tell their peers about the program. We have seen new students come in from those types of referrals," she said.

To learn more about the homestay program or to apply to be a host family, visit elgin.edu/homestay.

David Sam
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