A “teacher at heart,” John Balsam has long been interested in hosting international visitors. Sharing his experiences with them and learning from them, he says, has given him a new perspective on the United States and the challenges it faces.

Leslie Jensen, Vice President and Commercial Banker at First Interstate Bank, has always been interested in learning more about people and places outside of the United States. After hearing about the Professional Fellows Economic Empowerment Program, she felt a strong connection to the goals of the program and decided to host a participant from Burma.

Lisa Petersen, a private registered nurse, has hosted many Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) students from Eurasia. She found it fascinating how different cultures share so many similarities differently well as so many differences.

"He called me ‘Mom,’ and now when we talk on the phone every Sunday he calls me ‘Mom 2’."

“You’re making a huge impact on someone’s life, and it doesn’t end when they leave to go back home.”

Over the past 11 years, International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants from all around the world have walked through Anita Bevan’s front doors. Anita lives by a quote displayed in her Reno, Nevada home, “May all who enter as guests leave as friends.”

"My hope is to remain involved with the IVLP program until I can no longer do so, as it has – and continues to be – an extraordinary gift in my life.”