ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 



































 
LWC'S International Student Program- Ode to our host parents!


By Sabine Eastham, Director, International Student Programs
News from Lindsey Wilson College

Why is the LWC/ISP program so successful? Why do our current 109 international students from 39 different countries feel like home here in Columbia, KY- so far away from home?

The short answer can be given with one word: host parents!



Students are being paired with host parents to help them adjust. Minimum requirements would be to meet them about three times per semester, perhaps meet them for lunch, check in on them and invite them for a BBQ.

Yes, minimum requirements....

However the involvement goes much deeper and is what tips the scales, what is turning their experience into an awesome one...it is what gives their parents' far away a sense of "OKAY". Let me lead you behind the scenes and tell you the stories behind the story:

(This is in no particular order and definitely not a complete accounting of deeds, but just a sampling of awesomeness). Students feel so right at home, because our host parents:

  • Invite any and all students to come home, allowing them to do their laundry, eat lunch and spend time with FAMILY
  • >
  • Provide transportation to church services, public offices and last minute pickups from airports...
  • >
  • Invite students to stay in their home - for weekends and school breaks
  • >
  • Research recipes, traditions and cook for the students or with the students
  • >
  • Introduce students to rural living and share their love for outdoor activities: ATV rides, horse riding or whatever transportation is being used on the farm
  • >
  • Take them to get their phones fixed....'cause what will they do without them
  • >
  • Surprise them with flowers and balloons on their birthdays
  • >
  • Cheer for them at games and watch them during their practice- even drive to games far way from KY.
  • >
  • Take trips to explore Kentucky
  • >
  • Mend their pants
  • >
  • Take them to doctor's offices or the hospital
  • >
  • Listen to them
  • >
  • Take them out on the boat
  • >
  • Take them to festivals
  • >
  • Take them to get an important English proficiency test done...early in the morning, on a Saturday, 2.5 hours away
  • >
  • Invite them to watch AMERICAN football and eat a bite
  • >
  • Love them
  • >
  • Keep in touch with them long after they have left Columbia and LWC!
  • >
  • Minimum requirements? It goes much much further than that!! THAT is why our program is so successful!
THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME!!



This story was posted on 2016-09-16 10:15:43
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.



 

































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.