Scott Freese, campus minister at Wake Forest, said the program needs volunteers and families to help host these students during their time in the Triad.

“We have been short before but not at this point where we are less than two weeks away before they come to our homes. We need 45 to make this match up quite well,” said Freese.

As part of the program, students are required to experience the culture of an American family and college life.

“We hope they will take them-to different places in North Carolina, to state parks, maybe to the ocean or the mountains. We usually give the students and the host families an opportunity to get to know one another before they get to their home by sharing with them who they are matched up with as soon as possible, said Freese.”

This year, 68 students are participating in the program. Freese said host families will invite the fellows into their homes for 10 days. They will also be responsible for transporting the students to and from campus during their stay. Any person in the household 18 or older will be screened for sex offender and background checks.

Reese says the program is a great cultural experience for any family, especially those with teenagers.

“Students that come here end up sometimes even coming back as college students to Wake Forest University and to this region, especially when they have such a pleasant host family experience and some of the host families have actually gone over seas and visited some of the students in their homes as well,” said Freese.

Next week, the students will take a history trip to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. The students will be arriving back in the Triad to stay with their host families July 13 through the 22.