Campus welcomes over 50 international students
Leaving friends, family and familiarity behind, over 50 international students are visiting Fresno Christian, Jan. 25 through Feb. 4, for an American experience. The students hail from all over China, primarily from Beijing and Shanghai. Over 40 are elementary students, in grades 1-6, and the other eight are in grades 7-12.
The students are here to experience high school through AmeriStudent, a program that allows foreign exchange students to live with host families and see what it is like to live in America. The students stay with host families, families that have an extra room or bed and want to make a difference in a student’s life. While the students are on campus only for two weeks, some may potentially come to America for high school next year.
Adam Lee is one of the co-founders of AmeriStudent. When Lee was in high school, three German boys lived in his home. Since then he had contained a passion for education and the different cultures of the international students. As a 1998 alumni of Fresno Christian, Lee could not think of a better school to promote and bring students to for this unique international camp experience.
“My goal is to provide an ideal learning environment for students all over the world to come to the US to get a great education,” Lee said. “We want our students to feel equipped, safe and well provided for, so that they can focus on what they came for, an education. We work together to provide our students with the encouragement and support they need to achieve their goals and dreams.”
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While the foreign students will be exposed to a typical American school day, they will spend their week on campus shadowing American students in the classroom as well as be taught ESL lessons by the teachers. They will enjoy activities with the students such as PE, band, art, and music. They will attend field trips to the Pete DeGroot Dairy, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and a trip to Disneyland.
Many families at Fresno Christian decided to become host families for the international students. Elementary teacher Matthew Weimer decided to provide a home for two students because his family to share their relationship with God with them as they stay in Fresno.
“We want them to have the chance to choose His love, and we are praying that way,” Weimer said. “I am glad there are two students in my home, for they will have a friend who knows them. There will be someone who can listen to their joys and struggles.”
My goal is to provide an ideal learning environment for students all over the world to come to the US to get a great education. We want our students to feel equipped, safe and well provided for, so that they can focus on what they came for, an education. We work together to provide our students with the encouragement and support they need to achieve their goals and dreams. — Adam Lee
It wasn’t the Fergusons’ plan to bring in an international exchange student this year, but they prayed about it as a family and in January they invited Alice Xie into their lives. Stacey Ferguson especially enjoys Alice’s presence because she is always smiling, engaging with her family and embracing the American way of life.
“Alice is a very positive, kind, and respectful young lady who has already brought our family such joy and laughter,” Ferguson said. “Our goal as a family is to be an example for Christ and share with her the love of Jesus. This might be her first and only exposure to Christ and we pray that God will use our family to be a light for Him.”
