MISSOULA - Studying abroad can give students exposure to new experiences and walks of life, but a national non-profit works to give that same exposure within the United States.
The American Exchange Project was created in 2019 with the goal of connecting students across the country and for the first time, a group of recent high school graduates traveled to Missoula to stay with host families and experience Montana culture.
“The American Exchange Project is developed around the idea that a lot of young people who maybe could participate in a foreign exchange program maybe haven't traveled around the United States, maybe don't have an understanding of how big our country is, how diverse it is, socially, culturally, politically, economically,” Melissa Boys, the exchange manager for Missoula, says.
The program is fully funded by donors, so students don’t pay anything during the experience, and host families receive a stipend. They send high school seniors all across the country, including four cities in Montana this year, including Missoula.
The students apply to participate, but every student who applied for Missoula was enrolled.
Boys, a teacher at Big Sky High School, put together an itinerary for the students meant to show the typical life of a Missoula teenager. For example, they saw a movie at the Roxy, floated the Clark Fork and swam in Lake Como.
“Students, maybe who live in an urban environment, can come out to Missoula and see how people live on a daily basis,” Boys says.
They also taught the kids some of the history of the city, including a tour of Fort Missoula on Monday, July 24, 2023.
“We also tried to make it educational about our culture,” Boys says. “That was part of today's tour of Fort Missoula, just to give an understanding of each area's unique history.”
Boys says the experience can also teach Montanan seniors to better appreciate their hometown.
"One of the things that our kids in Missoula may not realize is that they live in an extraordinarily physically beautiful place and that they have a lot of opportunities to have outdoor experiences," she says.
The exchange students in Missoula from July 19- 26 were from Delaware and Texas. They enjoyed the natural environment Montana offers.
“I really like how spread out everything is, because where we’re from, it’s all close together and very busy, here it’s peaceful, relaxing,” Noah Brietzke, a senior from Delaware, says.
And the group liked bonding with people they may have never met.
“I like to getting to know like other people that otherwise I wouldn't be able to have like the chance to,” Meaghan Johnson, a member of a host family in Missoula, and a previous participant of the project.
“It helps build unity,” Walter Thompson, a senior from Delaware says. “Understand that everybody has got it a little differently. And so use that to get to know people a little better.”
The Hearthland Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw is a large donor to the program, but people can also support them through donations on their website.
