Student Exchanges

Global Ties KC considers many factors when pairing a household with a student (e.g. gender disbursement, ages, country diversity, pet allergies, interests). You will be informed of the selected student and provided a biography as soon as all hosts are confirmed and biographies are obtained.

Department of State sponsored youth exchange programs take student leaders across the United States to promote mutual understanding and leadership skills and prepare the students to make a difference in their communities. We create fast-paced programs to achieve their individualized goals through content meetings, workshops, site visits, volunteering, high school visits, and much more. Each family receives the final program book that includes the student’s schedule, addresses, contact information, and descriptions of every agenda item for the whole program.

A Global Ties KC staff member will be on call 24/7 during the program. All Department of State sponsored youth exchange participants have medical insurance during the program. Hosts are not responsible for co-pay costs. We also handle any non-emergency medical issues during work hours when we are with the students. For evening/weekend emergencies, our staff will be your first point of contact and work with you to ensure appropriate care for our students.

Whatever you would like! A beautiful part of this program is for the students to immerse themselves in everyday American life. Whether you are a family on the go and take your students with you, or you are a family that stays in for movie nights – we hope students walk away feeling like a member of your household. There is no pressure to go above and beyond to keep them entertained 24/7. Oftentimes, the students appreciate a relaxing evening after a long day of learning.

For some youth programs (typically in the summer), we can invite high school aged host siblings to participate in weekday programming alongside the international participants. This is a great opportunity to become closer with the full group of international students, learn more about other cultures, meet students from across the KC Metro, and gain greater insight into the broader community through our program agenda – while having a lot of fun! All U.S. participants must be a part of a host family and the invitation is not guaranteed for any program.

Each family can take up to two visitors in their household. It has been noted that oftentimes (when possible) hosts have a more impactful and easier host experience when they host two visitors together. It helps everyone feel more comfortable quicker. We recognize that it isn’t an option for everyone though, since it requires two separate beds.