1. Minh on a Montana Farm

   Minh Dang of Vietnam set specific goals for himself while participating in the Professional Fellow’s Economic Empowerment Program.

2. Building Strong Ties Through Friendship

   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.

3. From Professional Fellow to Lifelong Friend

   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.

4. My Colorado Cultural Experience

   Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program participant Anastasiya engaged in many activities in her new city, volunteering in an animal shelter, participating in sports teams, and helping students with disabilities.

5. Building a Future Through Technology

   Sura Mubarak is a true TechGirl—developing a robotics project to help people with hand disabilities control a computer and starting a volunteering organization. Sura knew that in order to pursue her love of robotics, a trip to the United States was in her future.

6. Hosting; The Most Rewarding Experience!

   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.

7. YES Student “Another Son” to Indiana Host Family

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

8. Iowa Host Family All-Stars Form Lifelong Bonds

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

9. My Extended Minnesota Family

   Fahmida Zaman sometimes missed her family in Bangladesh during her Global Undergraduate Exchange Program experience. She spent the better part of 2012 at St. Catherine University in Minnesota, well removed from her home. But, she is thankful for the connections she made with professors, her “friendship family,” American and international students, and one very memorable meeting with another Bangladeshi.

10. Discovering American Culture

    Nodirjon Siddikov was expecting many things when he came to Rochester, New York, as part of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program in 2009, but a vibrant food culture was not one of them.

Pages