Since 2015, roughly a million exchange students have come to study in America throughout different grade levels each year.
This year, two exchange students left their homes to study abroad here at Hayes. They came looking for more opportunities to immerse themselves in American culture and further their education. Emanoelle (Manu) Da Luz Rodrigues came from Brazil and Joan Prades came from Spain. The two started their sophomore year at Hayes.
The students came with two different programs. Rodrigues came with the Rotary Club of Delaware. With this club, students live with three different families throughout the year. The club provides six months of training before they leave home in order to help with language and cultural adjustments.
Prades came with Education First, in which students sign up and get paired with a host family, and live there for either two to four weeks before switching families, or live with a host family for five to 10 months. This program is year round.
These programs were put in place to help students further their English and get to know more about American culture.
A requirement is to know the language well before you leave for the new school. Most schools abroad start teaching English as a second language at a very early age.
“We start [learning English] when we’re so young, but people don’t know a lot of English [in Spain],” Prades said.
Prades said that students from Spain can choose to study in places other than America, also.
“My sister went to Ireland to [study abroad],” Prades said. “Later, my father asked if I wanted to go to the United States. I said ‘Yes.’”
However, the students have their own reasons for coming, such as exploring the many things Hayes has to offer and joining school clubs or sports. Not only are the exchange students enjoying their time here, but their host families are, too.
“My parents wanted to [host an exchange student] before COVID,” said Lincoln Beachy, whose family is hosting Prades. “Then, every year they [have] tried to [host] since then and we got [a student] this year.”
For these exchange students, there are a lot of changes that come with studying abroad. At school, things are different due to many factors. For example, schools in Spain are smaller, while in the U.S. schools are bigger and have a more social-based learning style.
Hayes has been accepting and hosting foreign exchange students for more than 22 years, but the program was shut down in 2020 due to Covid-19. Later, in 2023, the programs started back up, inviting several students to Hayes.
Jennifer Pollard, the Hayes college and career counselor, is responsible for arranging logistics like students’ class schedules at school.
“They met with me, with their host families, and we created their schedule and took a tour of the building,” Hayes’ college and career counselor, Jennifer Pollard said.
While students are attending Hayes, Pollard takes care of any needs at school and with their families and gets them in contact with coaches to join sports or clubs.
The students are quickly getting acclimated to the new school with help from their peers, teammates and host families.
“We’re already pretty good friends and I can’t wait to see where it goes,” Beachy said.
If families in DCS are interested in hosting or helping out with the exchange program in the future, they can reach out to the school for future opportunities.
