EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An exchange program is bringing global perspectives to local high schools, with East Grand Rapids being no exception. One former exchange student, Emilie Perret from France, says her experience was unforgettable.
The program, facilitated by CETUSA, helped Perret transition to her new environment, including the high school enrollment process and finding her an American host family. "I arrived at the airport with my host dad, waiting for me with this like gigantic sign for me to see him, and then we went home and I met my host mother," Perret said.
Perret, who attended East Grand Rapids High School in 2022, described the initial adjustment as "really interesting" due to the differences between her French family and her American host family. Adding that in France she has two younger brothers, but with her host family in East Grand Rapids she felt like an only child because her host brother lived in Tennessee."It was all about me for once, and it was really nice to like learn to live all together." Expressing the effort her host parents made to give her what she considers to be the American experience, "I would usually go grocery shopping with my host mom, I would go gardening with my host dad, and sometimes we would go to baseball games together," adding that after adjusting, they felt like family. She concluded by saying, "it was the best year of my life, I will give everything to be able to do it again."
Emilie explained to me that while she may have educated those around her about her culture, in exchange the residents of East Grand Rapids gave her a sense of community which she remains extremely grateful for.
Tiffany Summers, CETUSA's Placement Director, and Krystal Nyland, the Regional Director for West Michigan, emphasized the program's role in fostering cultural exchange and understanding, even during challenging political times. "We have gotten lots of questions because of political things going on right now. About is this a good time to bring students? And it's like, this is the time," they said.
As host families themselves, Summers and Nyland have experienced the lasting bonds and unique perspectives these exchange students bring. "As host parents, we do have that lifelong bond with these kids," they said, adding that hosting an exchange student allows them to see familiar experiences through fresh eyes, such as "watching a Friday night football game through the eyes of your exchange student." They both tell me that doing little activities with their students is something that is vital to the experience, "like riding the bus for the first time that they've only ever seen in movies, or getting to try Taco Bell for the first time, something else that most of them have only seen in movies. So it's just exciting for them and it's exciting for their natural parents to see them enjoy all these little things." Through the program, other kids in smaller towns also get exposed to different kinds of people from a variety of different cultures.
Currently, two exchange students are placed at East Grand Rapids High School, and Summers and Nyland say every time they have placed students here they've "absolutely loved the school" and their teachers. However, they still need host families for hundreds of students nationwide.
For Perret, the experience was transformative, allowing her to "grow a lot, to learn about myself, to gain like confidence to become more independent." Even after returning to France, she maintains a close connection with her American host family, who have visited her and whom she has visited in the U.S.
For more information on the program, visit www.cetusa.org
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