This month’s spotlight shines on a truly special individual – Kathy from West Virginia! Kathy initially joined the Aspect family as a host parent in 1989 and became an International Coordinator the following year. As our longest-serving coordinator, she has supervised over 250 students from all around the world. Kathy is always there for her students, taking the time to learn about their countries and cultures. Whether it’s writing heartfelt Christmas cards or traveling across the world, Kathy goes out of her way to stay in touch with her students, forming beautiful lifelong friendships!
Why did you become an International Coordinator?
My mom started hosting after my siblings and I left the house. She hosted a girl when I was 21 and we started hanging out together. I’d pick her up and we had fun together. In 1989 when my daughter was four, we hosted our first exchange student, Annemieke from the Netherlands. Her coordinator didn’t really do a lot with her so Annemieke said to me, “You’d be a better coordinator than him.” And so I thought, well, I could try it! I started placing students with host families and I have been doing it since!
What do you enjoy the most about being an International Coordinator?
When students arrive, it can be an emotional time for them because life in the US may be very different from their lives at home. In countries like Colombia and Brazil, families often have maids and a very different lifestyle than what we have here. I once placed a Colombian girl with a family who had nine kids and lived on a farm. A day after the student arrived, I went to see her and we went on a walk. As soon as I asked how it was going, she started to cry. I asked her to give her host family one week. I said: “I promise you’re going to see what I see! You’re going to fall in love with them because your host family are the nicest people in the world!” And I was right! It didn’t even take her 2 days and she had a great year!
I also love showing my students our country! When I lived in Colorado, I would take students to the Olympic Training Center, the Garden of the Gods, ski trips, and more. We do a lot of things, like going to a baseball game, an amusement park, and maybe a historic place. Since I now live in West Virginia, the big end of year trip we take with the kids is to Niagara Falls every year. I love going on a trip with my students!
Do you keep in touch with your students after they leave?
When Annemieke left in 1989, it was a bit challenging for us to stay in touch because sending a letter took 7 to 10 days and calling the Netherlands was around $3 a minute. But we still managed to stay in touch over all these years and now it’s so much easier. Now, I keep in contact with a lot of my students through Facebook. I also send around 450 handwritten Christmas cards each year to family, friends, and students, with about 200 of them going to my students. My boyfriend, Ron, suggested to cut down, so I looked at him and asked, “Which one of your friends doesn’t need one?”
I went to Europe this summer and met up with some of my former students. This year was the 12th time I’ve been and I saw 35 kids on my trip. I went to a reunion in Madrid (Spain) and then to another reunion with a different group of kids in Oslo (Norway). I went to a lot of places, about seven countries in 3 weeks. I visited Copenhagen, Hamburg, Paris, Madrid, Oslo, Sweden and Finland. I stayed with some of the kids I hosted over the years. These trips are always a lot of fun!
I enjoy visiting my former students. I like seeing where they live and meet their parents – the parents are so nice! That’s something that I always hope all host families will be able to do at some point, to go to their student’s home country and meet their families because it’s interesting. I visited a student in Belgium and her family owned two hotels and a castle. You get treated like a queen when you go visit them after hosting or supervising their child.
Do you have any advice for a new International Coordinator?
I think they should take full advantage to learn what they can from the student and about about their country. Go visit them and take advantage of traveling and seeing the world! I actually didn’t go to Europe until my daughter graduated from high school. Annemieke bought me my first ticket because she remembered that I had told her I would be coming to visit her after my daughter graduated.
You’ve been supervising and hosting for about 35 years! What’s it like to see your former students grow up and settle into their lives?
It’s awesome! A lot of the kids have come back to see me. They come over with their kids, husbands, wives, and it’s pretty nice. They have their own families now. My first student, Annemieke, is turning 54 this summer!
A German girl I supervised came to visit me in May! She was a part of my 2020 group, the year of COVID. At that time, a lot of kids couldn’t hang out with others. We were also hosting two girls, so I would pick up the students I supervised and they would hang out at our house. We would watch movies, play pool, do karaoke, and more. We got really close! The two girls I hosted in 2020 also came back last summer, and we took a road trip to Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont. We had a lot of fun together. I tell all my students they can come visit me!
Would you also like to work with students from across the world? We are always looking for great candidates in many communities, large and small, across the U.S. For more information about the International Coordinator position and how to apply check out our website!
