SCHOOL FEATURE STORY
Promoting Cultural Connections Shorewood’s AFS chapter has supported exchange students and host families for nearly 75 years BY MARIA CAMPBELL | PHOTO BY PATRICK MANNING
International students Felix Berton, left, Sophia Schmaling and Duru Delican stand in Mr. Evan Schmidt’s room at Shorewood High School.
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ach November for many years, Shorewood High School students assemble an astounding gamut of talent for a student-directed variety show that has gained a reputation as a must-see event. Known as the AFS Showcase, the two-night program is a fundraiser to support the SHS Chapter of the American Field Service, better known as AFS Intercultural Programs. The AFS program was created more than 100 years ago to minimize global conflict. What began as a wartime humanitarian effort transformed into a revolutionary international secondary school exchange, volunteer and intercultural learning program with a common goal in mind: to help build a more peaceful world by building understanding among different cultures. SHS has been active with AFS for more than 70 years, having welcomed its first exchange student (from Germany) during the 1950-51 school year. Since then, Shorewood has hosted 195 AFS exchange students from 53 countries and every continent but Antarctica. According to Pablo Muirhead, former longtime Shorewood AFS chair, the exchange opportunity makes the world feel like a smaller place. “By having a profound experience in another country, culture and language, students gain a broader
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appreciation for the world outside their comfort zone,” he says. AFS students, he explains, “receive preparation, support and the opportunity to experience the world as an adolescent would for an entire school year in the country they choose.” Currently, Shorewood is hosting three SHS foreign exchange students, including two through AFS, from Turkey, France and Germany. The students are here to discover what life is like for a teenager in America. AFS academic advisor Lisa McFarland believes the program is a great opportunity to share intercultural experiences and create lifelong connections for both students and host families. “I studied abroad in college, and the cultural connections created and different perspectives are life changing,” she says. When it comes to hosting exchange students, there is no perfect time to host and there is no such thing as the ideal host family, says Peter Jordan, current Shorewood AFS chair. “The stereotypical family has kids at the high school,” Jordan says. “This is a slight advantage, as they will know the routines and school expectations, but we have great support at the school and in our community to help any family navigate hosting.” He says host families have also included single
