Welcome to the 2011 edition of the Ayusa Star Newsletter! As another successful

year of hosting and cultural exchange draws to a close, Ayusa would like to take the

time to thank all our participants, host families and field staff for a fantastic year of

developing future world citizens.

At this year’s U.S. Department of State International Exchange Programs conference,

it was revealed that their studies show that cultural exchange programs:

• Increase mutual understanding

• Create international partnerships

• Foster democracy and social change

• Improve leadership capabilities

• Enhance professional development

In addition to all of the above,

our students, host families

and field staff have developed

life-changing memories and

impacted their communities

for the better. In today’s era of

globalization, the importance of

cultural exchange grows more

apparent every day. We are

confident of the positive and lasting impact this future generation of world citizens

will make on the global community, and we could not have achieved this without all

of you.

In other news, we would like to proudly present with you our new logo, unveiled this

past January. And in lieu of printing this newsletter, Ayusa will make a donation on

behalf of our host families and students to the American Red Cross’ relief efforts in

Japan.

Thank you for your commitment and dedication to Ayusa!

President’s Award Winner 2

Contest Winners 3

Youth Leadership Programs 5

Host Family Spotlight 7

Student Spotlight 8

Study Abroad News 9

Stay Involved with Ayusa 10

Thank You 11

Contents

STAR 2011 Newsletter

Welcome Message

“I think the one quality that Mollie actually embodies is professionalism. You can see this in her correspondence, paperwork, and student mediation. She has also managed to get Ayusa’s name known in the community through the multi community service projects, acquiring mentors for YES students, and holding fairs or Peace on Earth workshops during Global Youth Service Day. She truly tries to impact the world one student at a time. I know if there are students in need of a second chance, I can count on Mollie and her team to give it their all to help a student be successful.”

-Connie Coutu, Regional Manager

Ayusa President’s AwardWe are proud to announce this year’s Ayusa President’s Award was given to

Mollie Kidari, Senior Regional Director in the Southwest Region.

Mollie graciously takes some time to answer a few questions:

How did you get involved with Ayusa? I was in a ‘limbo’ period of my life, (I left the corporate world of data processing head hunting

to become a teacher and personnel director at the point when I had my third child and

became a single mom.) After 11 years of being in the educational world, I went back to taking

on private music students and working as a property manager for some realtors, but I was

feeling like I needed to be doing something different, something that aligned more with my

passion for peace and wanting to make a difference. I posted my resume on a job finding

website, and got a call from an RD here locally. I was intrigued with the idea of working with

global youth. (I had wished there had been something like that when I was younger in my

hometown!) She told me that my profile was perfect for the job. We met; I filled out the

paperwork and didn’t really know what to do next. I had no clue about this type of business.

She sent me some profiles of students to place. I made 5 placements right away, and I hosted

my first student as well. Maryana was the same age as one of my daughters, and was a FLEX

student. I learned about the FLEX program and ended up being a cluster leader that year for

3 FLEX students. I became an RD that January. The next year I added YES and CBYX to my

cluster and the clusters grew each year.

What do you like most about working with Ayusa? The thing I like most, is the fact that we are a global team working toward global peace.

Second to that I like the trips! I always wanted to travel the world, and now I am.

Do you have a fun memory that sticks out that you’d like to share with us? My first time hosting, as I said, was a 16 year old girl from Ukraine. She shared a room

with my 16 year old daughter. They were best friends, and worst enemies. They fought over

boyfriends, friends, dance moves, shoes, clothing...It was a very dramatic time (more dramatic

than I had expected). Let’s just say that I was wondering why I ever thought hosting would

be a good idea! I really did enjoy Maryana and felt a bond with her, but was feeling like it

would be a big relief for her to return home. So imagine my surprise when we were waiting

at the airport with Maryana for her flight back, both girls were sobbing profusely in each

other’s arms. Maryana was an only child back home; she was going to miss her sister! My

daughter was devastated because her “sister” was leaving and she was going to be “alone”

now. (Her older sister is a lot older and had a child, and her younger sister was not close with

her). Maryana came back to visit us when she was in college, and it was a great reunion. This

experience really helped me be able to counsel other host families in the future!

Contest Winners

Venera

Turkmenistan

Mohammed Lebanon

This year’s IEW contest had a first this year—a tie for 3rd

place! The tie is between Guram (Georgia) and Ameer

(Israel). These two stellar students actually live in the same

host family—the Morris family in Uvalde, TX. The boys

tied for 3rd because they were really neck-and-neck, both

making 17 engaging and informative presentations to a

variety of people and both getting featured in both the

local newspaper and on local radio!

Ameer Israel

Guram Georgia

Mohammed is a YES scholarship student from Lebanon

who lives with the Shikany family in Springfield, Missouri.

He impressed this year’s judges with his immense efforts

leading up to IEW, which resulted in an extraordinary film

that he edited over the course of four months!

Venera is a FLEX scholarship student from Turkmenistan

living with the Michiels family in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Venera blew this year’s IEW judges away by completing 49

presentations to over 1578 people of all ages!

While all of Ayusa’s student participants are amazing, we’d like to take a moment and

recognize the inspiring winners of this year’s student contests.

International Education WeekInternational Education Week (IEW) is a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of

State and the U.S. Department of Education. Ayusa students gave cultural presentations

in their communities and entered in our annual contest. In November of 2010 the Ayusa

headquarters office was overflowing with impressive submissions for this year’s International

Education Week contest, proving that Ayusa students are excellent junior ambassadors and

achieve great things through cultural exchange! The following winners were selected from

90 remarkable entries

First Prize

Second Prize

Third Prize

Third Prize

Seema impressed our judges with her eagerness to do

community service from the instant she arrived in the US.

She did not stop at simply working in school volunteer

opportunities or with her involvement with SADD, but also

created her own volunteer opportunities within her small

community to serve the people around her. Her teacher

told us that:

“Seema has had a bigger impact on our community than any exchange student I have known in 15 years!”

Community Service Contest

For the 2010-2011 Annual Community Service Contest, we received over a 100 entries

from Ayusa students volunteering in their host communities around the United States.

The winners all made a powerful impact in their communities, exhibited a commitment to

their projects, and grew as individuals because of their participation in service projects. As

with all years, we had a very hard time determining the winners, with over 100 very well

qualified entries submitted! Meet the winners of this year’s contest:

Naia has dedicated countless hours to community service

since arriving in the US. Her work with foster children

opened her eyes about real issues within American society

and the importance of serving those less fortunate. Her

recommendations were stellar, and not only has her support

been essential to those whom she has worked with, but

one of her teachers even reports:

“She is one of the BEST students I have ever had!”

Ghada has immersed herself in various community service

projects since arriving in the US. Ghada’s teachers report

that she sets an excellent example for her American

classmates by being so involved in service, and that they

see the positive impact she’s making at her school and

within her greater community. Her intelligence and strong

work ethic have made her an asset in all the projects she

works on.

Study Abroad Multimedia ContestThis year also saw our most successful Study Abroad Multimedia Contest. We asked all of our past and current study abroad participants

to send in an essay, video, or photo(s) sharing advice, memories, or the impact that study abroad had on them. We received 80+

photos, 7 essays, and 2 videos, all of which can be found on Ayusa’s facebook fan page. Out of all of the amazing entries, Ellen’s essay

from her fall in Spain, Amory’s photo essay from her fall in France, and Jackie’s photos of her summer in Japan won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

place respectively.

To see the winners (and all of the other entries), check out Ayusa’s facebook page!

Seema Pakistan

Naia Georgia

GhadaIsrael

Contest Winners

Emerging Youth Leaders

This exciting and inspirational program was a two-way exchange between the US

and Senegal. Fifteen high school students and 2 educators from each country were

recruited from minority and urban demographics not traditionally served by ex-

change programs. During the exchange, students participated in community ser-

vice projects, cultural enrichment activities, global skills training, and other types

of experiential group learning designed to develop civic responsibility and com-

mitment to communities. Participants, partners, and natural families all reported

an enriching experience with continued learning and exchange on all sides!

Youth Leadership Programs

While most of Ayusa’s programs involve bringing students into the US for

a semester or academic year or sending north American students overseas,

in the summer of 2010 we held some very special leadership programs that

were a little different.

Jovenes en Accion -“Youth in Action”

This program sent 50 Mexican high school students to improve their leadership

and civic engagement skills in Berkeley, California and Washington, D.C. The vast

majority of participants attend public school in cities experiencing problems with

drugs and violence. As part of the curriculum, students developed plans for their

own community service projects that addressed the concerns of today’s Mexican

youth. Upon returning to Mexico, they then implemented these projects in their

hometowns with the assistance of private sector representatives, thus immedi-

ately putting into practice what they learned from their experience. A 2-day follow

up conference for the students was held in January 2011 in Mexico City, where

students attended leadership workshops and met with the former US Ambassador

Carlos Pascual!

Ayusa World Leaders

As you may know, this was the first year of our new

Ayusa World Leaders program, our 3-week sum-

mer program that brings students from around

the world together to study global issues and hone

their leadership skills. In July 2010, 27 students

from around the US and the world came together

at the University of California at Berkeley to study

environmental leadership. In addition to AP-level

environmental science coursework and field work

and excursions around the San Francisco bay area,

students also developed environmental policy

proposals that they presented to legislators and

policy-makers in Sacramento at the end of the

program! This program was truly a transforma-

tional and cross-cultural experience for everyone

involved. At the graduation ceremony, students

(with the parents in attendance) shared how this

program impacted them and changed their views

about themselves and the world we share! For

more information about participating in this year’s

program, check out www.ayusaworldleaders.org.

With Ayusa holding classes for three diverse pro-

grams at UC Berkeley, just over the bridge from

Ayusa HQ, we were able to hold our 1st Ayusa

Leadership Luncheon. We brought together stu-

dents from all programs -- representing 8 different

countries! -- for an afternoon of world trivia, prizes

and fun.

Youth Leadership Programs

Make a difference this summer-Become a WorldLeader!Ayusa World Leaders is still

accepting applications for

this summer.

Call 877-853-6489 for details!

Host Family Spotlight

The WatsonsAyusa is lucky to have so many great host families this year! Here’s a spotlight on just one of

our amazing host families, Carrie and Roy Watson of Apple Valley, CA. This year, the Watsons

are hosting two exchange students, Ghada and Christine. We’ll let Ghada and Christine explain

in their own words why the Watsons have been such a great host family.

Why the Watsons?

By Ghada (Israel) and Christine (Taiwan)

As exchange students, coming from a completely different part of the world, we had no idea what we

were going to face or who we were going to meet. At the beginning we thought that living with old

parents could be boring. After living with Roy and Carrie we changed our stereotypes. We have a great

time traveling, talking, watching TV, eating… We did everything we wanted to do. We also have a host

sister, her name is Sara. She welcomed us very warmly and shared her parents and her house with us.

We love having her as our sister.

We feel as part of the family, we argue sometimes, but we laugh and have fun most of the time. If

we want to go somewhere, we just ask and our family takes us there. They do a lot of driving, we are

very thankful for that. They understand our needs and discuss anything with us. They understand if

we miss our family and want to talk to them. They start asking us about them, we talk to them about

our family, which makes us feel better all the time. We eat dinner together every day. It’s one of our

favorite parts of the day. We tried most of the American food together; we cooked our traditional food

and shared it with them. We go out to eat 2-3 times a week. We meet many of their friends. Roy, Carrie

and Sara introduced us to their family and friends and we felt very glad to be part of this family.

We did not have to worry about the money. They helped us buy the things we needed and bought us

tickets to visit all the main places in California. Carrie loves to take pictures of the three of us. We have

lots of fun traveling together. Despite that we live far away from the town, and we don’t have many

neighbors to talk to, we still have fun together. If we’re bored Roy, Carrie and Sara suggest doing this

or that, even if they are busy they take care of us and help us. They are very helpful, especially with

our homework. At the beginning we had difficulties with our language, but they helped us overcome

these struggles.

Having Sara as a sister is like having a sleep over every night. We watched a lot of movies together, we

went shopping, and we talked about everything. We feel very close to each other. We laugh all the time

and have fun. Even though we argue sometimes, we still feel like real sisters. She helped us at school

and with many other issues. It’s great to have Sara around. We thank her very much for hosting us.

We love having them as our host family. We are even thinking about visiting each other or meeting

somewhere. We will be very sad to leave this home, which we now consider our second home. It is

not a temporary home anymore, it’s our own home, own parents and own family. We are very

thankful for everything they are doing. We love them so much.

Ayusa thanks the Watsons for being such a great host family!

Christine: I came to live with Roy, Carrie and Sara after Thanksgiving. I had a different host family. When I moved here, I immediately felt part of the family. After the first week I felt that I know them since a long time. I loved moving here, they treated me very nice and helped me with everything I needed. I didn’t feel lonely or outsider, but I felt happy to be between them.

Ghada: On my birthday, we celebrated at an Arabic

restaurant, so I can feel like home. With them being there for me, I felt exactly like home, with my family and friends. We had a lot of fun and I had a wonderful 18th Birthday.

“Milou is one of the most motivated and positive students I have ever supervised. She always has a big smile on her face even if she is having a tough week. She encourages everyone she comes in contact with. She sets goals for herself and works very hard to attain those goals. She is rated #3 in her class academically and is involved in theater, music, and speech. She is very willing to help in any way she can and always very appreciative. She was an amazing support for her host family when the entire home burned down.”

– Shirley Nickel, Regional Director

Student Spotlight

If this weren’t enough, last November the Lamaack family suffered a terrible tragedy when

a fire destroyed their home. Milou lost almost everything she had in America due to the

fire, including her clothing, belongings and passport. Instead of asking to be transferred

to another host family, Milou remained with the Lamaacks and helped to support them

through this time. Her mathematics teacher, Aniessa Sebring says of Milou, “I only saw

her upset from this for about one day, and then she bounced back to her usual smiling and

cheerful self. Such inner strength in a person that young is remarkable.”

Milou’s helpful and caring nature, optimism and friendly attitude has made her an excellent

addition to the school and her host family.

“Milou is a wonderful student and role model.” – Rachel Axford, Teacher

Milou We are pleased to feature Milou in this year’s Student Spotlight! Milou is a Dutch

exchange student who attends Windom Area High School and lives with the Lamaack

family in Windom, Minnesota.

Milou has contributed greatly to her high school’s fine arts department by participating

in school plays and musicals, choreographing dance routines, and singing in the school

choir. As a member of the speech team, Milou has competed and won awards in speech

competitions. On top of being an active participant in all these extra-curricular activities,

Milou has also taken time to tutor a fellow student.

Study Abroad News

Volunteer Abroad with Ayusa!

Have you always wanted to do community service overseas? Ayusa has partnered with

our sister company, ProWorld, to offer 3-week summer Volunteer Abroad programs

for high school students! Our pilot program will take place from July 21 to August 12,

2011, in Peru. On this program, students will work on the Viviendas (Healthy Families)

project in the Sacred Valley village of Occoruro, helping increase the overall health

and quality of life in this community through a variety of environmental, health, and

economic projects. In addition to the 60 hours of volunteer service, students will

also receive 12 hours of conversational Spanish instruction, 8 hours of Global Citizen

Initiative curriculum, and a program finale weekend in Machu Picchu! If you’d like more

information or want to join this year’s program, visit

www.ayusa.org/students/study-abroad/peru/peru-volunteer-abroad.

Cultural Exchange Goes Two Ways! Ayusa gives back to families and communities that are involved in cultural exchange by

offering the following discounts on our outbound programs:

Starting in 2008, once a high school hosts their first Ayusa student they’ll get a $500 discount for every successive Ayusa student they host. The school can give these discounts out to their students who are interested in studying abroad with Ayusa, and you can receive up to 3 tickets for a discount of $1500!

Families who host Ayusa international exchange students within 2 years of studying abroad are eligible for a $500 discount on programs which take place during the school year and a $250 discount on our summer programs. For more information about becoming a host family, visit www.ayusa.org/families/what-hosting.

Ayusa offers a $500 discount to families who have participated on a previous Ayusa or Intrax Study Abroad Program, and to students who enroll in an Ayusa program with a friend!

Can’t get enough cultural exchange? Sign up to be an Ayusa Student Ambassador and promote and facilitate cultural exchange by helping exchange students in your community, and by telling friends and classmates about opportunities to host or become an exchange student! Student Ambassadors receive a $500 on all Ayusa programs.

All discounts are cumulative and can be used on any of Ayusa’s Study

Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, or World Leaders programs.

Golden Ticket Discounts Host Family Discounts

Student Ambassador Discount Friends and Family Discounts

“I am now a veteran mom of the exchange student experience. My eldest daughter, Kelley, studied in Quito, Ecuador for 5 months in 2008; on April 27, 2011, my youngest daughter, Cara, returned from Seville, Spain. Kelley and Cara are my only children. I allowed my daughters, each only 15 years old at their start, to wander beyond my reach, my ability to protect. What did I get back? Stronger, taller, self-assured young women with a better perspective on the world. Was it easy? Absolutely not. Was it worth it? Absolutely!“

Janet sent both of her daughters to

study abroad with Ayusa. Here are

some snippets from a letter that

she sent us in April, right before her

youngest daughter returned from

Spain.

Janet, thank you for sharing your daughters, and your story!

Stay involved with Ayusa!

Host an exchange student Ayusa firmly believes that one connection has the power to change the world. What better way to

make a difference than by welcoming a young person from another country to your own home and

community? If you haven’t yet, families living in the US can still select their exchange student for the

upcoming 2011-2012 year.

To get started, visit www.ayusa.org/families/what-hosting.

Study or Volunteer Abroad! Ayusa has a number of study abroad and volunteer abroad programs around the world! (While our

school year study abroad programs are primarily for students living in the US and Canada, we are

able to accept students from around the world on our summer programs.) If you’d like to join us this

summer, there may still be room on some of our programs – please call 1-800-579-1709 for more

information. Check out some of the discounts you may be eligible for on page 9.

More information can be found at www.ayusa.org/students/study-abroad.

Become a World Leader! This summer program, which will be taking place from July 24 to August 13, brings high school students

from around the world together to study global issues and hone their leadership skills. This year’s

curriculum offers students the opportunity to study Environmental Science at the University

of California at Berkeley. A detailed description of the program, as well as a short video

highlighting last year’s program, can be found at www.ayusaworldleaders.org.

Volunteer to be an Ayusa Student Ambassador! Ayusa Student Ambassadors are high school students that

facilitate and promote cross-cultural understanding

within their communities by befriending exchange

students and spreading the word about

cultural exchange! To learn more about

becoming an ambassador, ask your

local Ayusa representative or call

1-800-579-1709.

Continue to remain an active part of the Ayusa family!

We hope that you had an absolutely amazing and unforgettable year with Ayusa, learning all

about another culture, but also a lot about yourselves. Here’s a few ways to stay involved:

Work for Ayusa!

If you live in the US and are over 25, you can become

an Ayusa Community Representative! Working with exchange

students has the potential to be one of the most important things

you will ever do. Not only are you bringing diversity and understanding to

your community, but you are having a direct impact on the life of a young person.

As you continue to work with your students, host families and schools, you will find that

your capacity for cultural understanding and communication will grow beyond your wildest

expectations. Many, if not most, of our staff find that they become leaders in their communities

through their work with Ayusa. The strong friendships you’ll build and the cross-cultural enrichment

you’ll experience will make your international family continue to grow year after year.

For more information, visit www.ayusa.org/staff/work-ayusa.

Thank you