Hello Erie families,

I am the president of Erie Premier Sports and I am writing today with an invitation to consider hosting an exchange student on behalf of Erie Premier Sports for the next school year.

This year, we are bringing nine students from Mérida, Mexico — my hometown — to Erie, Pennsylvania. The students were born in 2010 and 2011 and will arrive by August 13. They will stay with host families through the conclusion of the school year.

This article is sponsored by Erie Premier Sports.

For the last 17 years, Erie Premier Sports has united exchange students from Mérida, Mexico, with host families in the Erie area. During that time, we have placed more than 95 students with families from our Erie and soccer community.

Our students have attended schools including Mercyhurst Prep, Cathedral Prep, Fairview High School, McDowell High School, Fort LeBoeuf, and Erie First Christian Academy.

While in the United States, exchange students experience a new culture, enhance their language skills, make lasting relationships, and ultimately return to their home countries with a positive impression of life in the U.S.A.

Even if you are not sure hosting is right for your family, reaching out is a good first step to ask questions and learn what is involved.

By hosting an exchange student, you are doing the student and his or her family a huge favor. You are giving that student the gift of experiencing a new culture and way of life while feeling safe, supported, and part of a family.

You would probably hope someone would do the same for you and your child in a similar situation.

We believe the leaders of tomorrow are the children of today, and we can all play a part in raising them to be strong, curious, and kind individuals.

Why host an exchange student?

Host families make international diplomacy a personal affair. By accepting an exchange student into their lives, families often find that their homes, schools, and communities are enriched in ways they may not have anticipated.

Student exchange programs were created after the World Wars in an effort to prevent them from happening again. The connections built through exchange programs can help create a more peaceful global community.

In order to understand one another, we have to open up and share our daily lives.

By hosting an exchange student from another part of the world, you promote friendship, understanding, and cooperation. These exchanges allow us to better understand our differences and appreciate our similarities.

Our program also uses sports, primarily soccer, as the main connection between the host family and the student.

Bring the world to your family

Have you ever wanted to travel to a faraway place? Speak to the people there? Hear their language? Learn their culture?

By hosting a student, you are able to do all of that without the expense of travel.

You can bring the world to your family and community. You may try new foods, learn new words, see familiar places through new eyes, and create lifelong relationships with people you otherwise might never have crossed paths with.

See everyday life in a new way

When you host an exchange student, everyday moments you may take for granted can suddenly take on new life.

Restaurants, movie nights, shopping trips, family dinners, soccer practices, and even housework can become new experiences when seen through the eyes of your new family member.

Experiencing your daily life from this fresh perspective can bring new energy and excitement to your home.

Build connection and understanding

There is no better way to learn a new language than to practice with a native speaker, but communication goes much deeper than language.

When you host an exchange student, you learn how to build relationships with someone who may have had an upbringing very different from your own. You also discover that, despite living thousands of miles apart, speaking different languages, and growing up with different traditions, we have far more in common than we realize.

These relationships often last long after the school year ends. Students regularly keep in touch with their host families, and it is not uncommon for host families to travel to their student’s home country to visit, experience their culture firsthand, and meet their families.

Could your family be the right fit?

Consider for a moment what it would be like to send your own child thousands of miles from home to a country where no one speaks his or her language and where people might do things very differently.

Now think of the family you would hope would welcome your child during that stay.

When you host an exchange student, you know that one student is in good hands and has the opportunity to leave Erie with a positive impression of our community and our country.

Interested in hosting an exchange student in Erie?

Erie Premier Sports is currently looking for host families for nine students from Mérida, Mexico, for the upcoming school year.

Students arrive by August 13 and depart at the conclusion of the school year.

If you are interested in learning more about hosting an exchange student, please reach out. Asking questions does not mean you are committing — it is simply the first step to learning whether hosting could be a good fit for your family.

Contact: Pedro Argaez
Email: pedro@eriepremiersports.com