All types of homes -- families, couples, grandparents, single-person households and others -- are eligible to host a foreign exchange student for a school semester. Apply online at http://www.ForeignExchangeStudent.com.

Fort Worth, TX -- Exploring the world and experiencing a different culture, all in your own home, is possible. Just become a host family for an international student.

Families are now needed to host foreign exchange students across North Texas.

Pat Specht, representative for OCEAN (Organization for Cultural Exchange Among Nations), AYA (Academic Year in America) and SEA (Student Exchange Alliance), is taking applications for host families for the 2007-2008 school year. Interested applicants can inquire about the program online at http://www.ForeignExchangeStudent.com.

The application should be started as soon as possible, as students begin arriving in August, Specht said. To ensure the safety of the foreign students, the process includes a home visit and criminal background check all adults over age 18 in the household .

Specht has been a host, herself, for the past decade. While host families are completely voluntary and are not paid, she said those who do become hosts enjoy a rich cultural experience, while making a difference in a child’s life.

“Host families become so fond of their foreign students that they form lifelong friendships, often traveling to the exchange students’ home countries to visit and meet their families and to experience their daily lives,” said Specht.

To assist in the exchange experience, host families will receive support from a local student representative. All host families can earn travel credit to visit the exchange student in their home country and scholarships towards sending their own child overseas as an exchange student.

Specht said families can chose to host an international student for 5 or 10 months.

“When people ask, ‘Why do you host?’ I tell them that I do it for the long-term relationship I’m going to have with a child and their family. You change their life and they change yours,” said Diane Torres, a local coordinator and host mother in Texas.

Local students who would like to become experience another country and become a foreign exchange student can apply at http://www.ForeignExchangeStudent.com.

For more information, call Pat Specht at 817-726-8367 or Diane Torres at 817-713-1426. To start the application process, visit online http://www.ForeignExchangeStudent.com.

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