Families Invited to Host Visiting Students

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University Office of International Students and Scholars is looking for local residents willing to share friendly conversation and a meal with international students.
 
This fall about 80 international students have signed up for WSU’s Friends and Family program. But, Ben Colston, international student adviser, said he only has about 20 local families to match them with.

“We want them to be able to experience more than just the academic side of going to a university” in this country, Colston said. “We see it as a chance for them to step into an American home, meet a family and learn about American culture.”

Colston said the time commitment for families is not too much. “All we ask is for the family to meet the student once a month,” he said.

According to the Office of International Students and Scholars, there are more than 1,100 international students on the Pullman campus and they come from more than 90 countries.

That’s a wealth of culture right here in Pullman, said Colleen Harvey, who has been hosting students with her husband, Bob, for 30 years.

“Maybe we don’t travel around the world, but we get to know the world through these students,” Harvey said. This year she and her husband are hosting six students.

For more information, visit www.ip.wsu.edu/oiss.