Gibault Catholic High School has seen a number of students from all over the world come to the school for a semester, a year or even an entire high school education.

While the COVID-19 pandemic seriously dampened the number of exchange students in attendance, the school is looking to get those numbers back up but will need to get more host families to accommodate them.

Patty DeRousse serves as local coordinator for Educatius, an international organization which connects high school students from all over the world with foreign schools.

DeRousse said she looked into the job after seeing a Facebook ad back in the spring of 2021. Her history of bouncing from country to country – thanks to her husband serving in the Air Force – and welcoming her children’s friends made the work a natural fit for her.

She explained that prior to the pandemic, Gibault would have around two dozen international students in attendance.

Amid the height of pandemic restrictions, quite a few students were unable to join or return, though some stayed throughout the pandemic.

Currently, Gibault has 10 exchange students in attendance, with DeRousse overseeing five and fellow Educatius coordinator Marillyn Goodsell-Fausz taking care of the remaining five.

The drop in exchange students has coincided with an even more precipitous drop in host families, though DeRousse couldn’t attribute the lack of hosts to any particular factor beyond population.

“I and the other local coordinator have found it very difficult to recruit host families here in this area for whatever reason,” DeRousse said. “I’m not sure exactly what it is. I think it’s just because this is small-town USA. We’ve got a really small pool of people to draw from between Columbia, Waterloo and Valmeyer and the surrounding area.”

This year, the coordinators have been able to get by with their handful of host families, though only one of DeRousse’s families has expressed plans to open their doors again, with the others – including a family who’s housed students for several years now – declining.

Now, amid the start of placement season for exchange students, the two Educatius coordinators are set to have a severe deficit of host families for the coming year.

DeRousse explained that without host families, international students simply aren’t able to attend Gibault and are thus forced to find a school elsewhere or simply reconsider attending a foreign school.

She spoke highly about opportunities exchange programs can offer, both for participating students and the schools and communities to which they travel.

DeRousse particularly noted how nice it is for students from other countries to be able to adjust their preconceived ideas of the United States while getting to experience a real taste of a Midwest community.

“I love the fact that there are kids who still want to come to America to see what it’s like here,” DeRousse said. “I think it’s such an awesome opportunity for the kids themselves to be able to come and learn that America is not just what you see in the movies and not just about the really bad news reports that you see on news channels, but America is made up of families just like yours.”

She also spoke quite highly about the students themselves, particularly in regard to the clear passion and interest many of them demonstrate when it comes to their education and cultural exposure.

“They’re here to have a great time,” DeRousse said. “A lot of them are here for academic reasons and a lot of them are here because they just wanna see what America is like and to experience things like high school football games, a high school prom.”

One of the students DeRousse is overseeing this year is Mannuel Mannes – “Manu” for short – a junior from Hanover in Northwest Germany.

She praised Mannes a great deal, chiefly for his grades and positive relationships at school. DeRousse also noted his overall excitement to experience a new country over the last few months.

Mannes himself spoke positively about his time in the community. He’s been able to join a number of clubs and organizations over the past year, including a local Boy Scout troop, Model United Nations and Gibault’s Critique Club.

He also played on the school’s basketball team this year and was especially pleased to be able to experience the state title win along with the friends he spent so much time with over the season.

With all this, other experiences and pleasant times with his host family, Mannes summarized his time in the U.S. very positively.

“It’s a lot of new stuff, and it’s beautiful to kind of share your experience and everything with a new person and a new family,” Mannes said. “It’s just an amazing time, a special time in life.”

Another of DeRousse’s students this year is Sofia Garcia, a junior from Spain.

She previously became interested in an exchange program after watching YouTube videos about the experience, and she’s since gotten a great deal of enjoyment from her experiences here, like getting an American perspective on Halloween and Christmas or walking through Walmart, which she described as “just huge.”

Like Mannes, Garcia has been quite busy during her stay. She played on the volleyball team earlier in the school year and she’s also participated in cheerleading, joining the squad to cheer on the boys basketball team during its state title win.

“I’ve had amazing experiences,” Garcia said. “Our basketball team going to state and I getting to cheer in there. Stuff like that, so out of reach for me in Spain, and here it’s just like ‘Oh, that just happened.’”

Recently, Garcia also performed on Gibault’s stage for the annual spring musical, though she said she’s had quite a bit of theatre experience in the past.

Garcia also spoke about the good time she’s had staying with her host family.

She noted that participating in an exchange program can be difficult on both sides, but the cultural exchange and other positive experiences that can result are well worth it.

“It must not be the easiest thing, I guess, opening your house to a stranger, just like it isn’t to come to a stranger’s house and suddenly be like ‘Hey, I’m here!’” Garcia said. “But what you get from it is an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity for us.”

Melissa Schuchardt, a member of Garcia’s host family, spoke similarly about the experience she’s had with Garcia staying with them.

She noted that a distinct family dynamic has developed in the months that Garcia’s lived with them, adding she’s basically just become another member of the family at this point.

“Overall I just think Sofia’s an amazing young lady who’s definitely going to go places in her life,” Schuchardt said. “She definitely fits in with our family 100 percent.”

Though Garcia won’t be returning next year, Schuchardt noted the family plans to open its doors to another student for the coming school year. They also plan to take a visit to Spain and hope to meet the rest of Garcia’s family.

Both DeRousse and Goodsell-Fausz echoed the positive experiences students and host families have had.

Goodsell-Fausz particularly spoke about the cultural exchange that can happen as well as the sense of extended family that can develop when a family welcomes an exchange student into their home.

She said interest in these experiences and a sense of altruism are some of the key factors she sees in families who open their doors.

“Especially if they have a student going to school themselves, this is just another person in their home that can become a good friend to their own student, another support as well learning each other’s cultures,” Goodsell-Fausz said. “It’s also a way to take somebody else in and show the love to another student who is seeking the opportunity, internationally, to pursue an education.”

Looking to the next school year, DeRousse is hopeful about getting the host families that they need.

“I would love to have about eight or 10 good families that are willing to just open their homes for at least one school year and just see how it goes, and then hopefully return for a second or a third school year, and we can grow from there,” DeRousse said.

She explained host families just need to provide appropriate room and board for a student along with transportation to and from school and extracurricular activities.

For more information on the host family program and Educatius, contact DeRousse at plderousse.educatius@gmail.com.

Those looking to host exchange students in Waterloo and Columbia can also check out worldlinkinc.org, another organization like Educatius which connects exchange students with host families.