Welcome to the Family
Hosting one of Bryn Mawr’s international students offers families long-lasting friendships and the chance to learn about another culture without ever leaving Baltimore.
When juniors Willow White and Martyna Holubiec think back to the very first time they ever talked, they still laugh. It was on Skype during the summer of 2017 and was, they exclaim in unison, “the most awkward conversation in the entire world!”
But if the girls worried that that experience would be indicative of the coming year, they didn't need to. After four months of living together, they think of themselves as sisters. To anyone meeting them, the connection is obvious, spelled out through their shared glances and endearing habit of finishing each other's sentences. “It’s weird thinking about last year, because all of my memories feel incomplete,” Willow muses. “I’ll be like, ‘Where was Martyna during this? Oh, I didn’t know her.’”
Martyna, a Polish native, came to Bryn Mawr through ASSIST, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that matches academically talented international students with independent schools in the States. Each ASSIST scholar studies in America for one year, gaining valuable international experience as well as serving as an ambassador for their own country. Since partnering with ASSIST in 2015, Bryn Mawr has hosted students from Germany, Poland, Austria and Bulgaria.
ASSIST is not the only program that brings international students to Bryn Mawr. The school also works with Ivy International Group and Apex International Education Partners to bring students from China to Bryn Mawr for part or all of their high school careers. Currently, there is one ASSIST student and 13 Chinese students enrolled in the Upper School. By April 2018, the eleventh grade alone will have included students from South Africa, Argentina, Poland, China, England and the Czech Republic.
The academic benefits for international students who enroll at Bryn Mawr are numerous. However, an equally important part of the experience is finding hosts who will serve as surrogate families for these students during their time in the U.S. That’s where students like Willow come in. For her, the seed of wanting to host someone was planted by an experience her mother, Maura Eagan White ’93, had hosting Peter, a Gilman international student from Germany, during her own years at Bryn Mawr. Even today, Willow says, her family keeps in touch with Peter. Seeing that bond – coupled with Willow’s desire for a sister – inspired her to apply to be a host for an ASSIST student. And, both Martyna and Willow agree, it has worked out better than they could have imagined. “We’re already planning Willow’s trip to Poland this summer,” Martyna says. “And now her [Willow’s] parents are like, ‘Maybe you should stay for another year!’”
World Languages and Cultures Department Chair Jenniffer Gray, who teaches Spanish at Bryn Mawr, can attest to the strong bonds that can form between host families and their international students. Several years ago, Gray and her husband, Alvaro Salcedo, volunteered to host Xiaoxiao Taoli ’16, a new freshman who had come to Bryn Mawr through Ivy International. The experience was life changing. Taoli remained with Gray and Salcedo for all four of her years at Bryn Mawr, becoming a true part of the family. “There is so much to gain by hosting an exchange student, and though it is far from easy work, our lives have certainly been enriched by our international daughter,” Gray says. “Language and cultural barriers certainly exist, but we have found that humor, patience and communication allowed us to create a truly familiar environment. Our lives became fuller and now our pantry is stocked with those interesting groceries from the Asian supermarket that we were always curious about, but never dared to buy.”
But if the girls worried that that experience would be indicative of the coming year, they didn't need to. After four months of living together, they think of themselves as sisters. To anyone meeting them, the connection is obvious, spelled out through their shared glances and endearing habit of finishing each other's sentences. “It’s weird thinking about last year, because all of my memories feel incomplete,” Willow muses. “I’ll be like, ‘Where was Martyna during this? Oh, I didn’t know her.’”
Martyna, a Polish native, came to Bryn Mawr through ASSIST, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that matches academically talented international students with independent schools in the States. Each ASSIST scholar studies in America for one year, gaining valuable international experience as well as serving as an ambassador for their own country. Since partnering with ASSIST in 2015, Bryn Mawr has hosted students from Germany, Poland, Austria and Bulgaria.
ASSIST is not the only program that brings international students to Bryn Mawr. The school also works with Ivy International Group and Apex International Education Partners to bring students from China to Bryn Mawr for part or all of their high school careers. Currently, there is one ASSIST student and 13 Chinese students enrolled in the Upper School. By April 2018, the eleventh grade alone will have included students from South Africa, Argentina, Poland, China, England and the Czech Republic.
The academic benefits for international students who enroll at Bryn Mawr are numerous. However, an equally important part of the experience is finding hosts who will serve as surrogate families for these students during their time in the U.S. That’s where students like Willow come in. For her, the seed of wanting to host someone was planted by an experience her mother, Maura Eagan White ’93, had hosting Peter, a Gilman international student from Germany, during her own years at Bryn Mawr. Even today, Willow says, her family keeps in touch with Peter. Seeing that bond – coupled with Willow’s desire for a sister – inspired her to apply to be a host for an ASSIST student. And, both Martyna and Willow agree, it has worked out better than they could have imagined. “We’re already planning Willow’s trip to Poland this summer,” Martyna says. “And now her [Willow’s] parents are like, ‘Maybe you should stay for another year!’”
World Languages and Cultures Department Chair Jenniffer Gray, who teaches Spanish at Bryn Mawr, can attest to the strong bonds that can form between host families and their international students. Several years ago, Gray and her husband, Alvaro Salcedo, volunteered to host Xiaoxiao Taoli ’16, a new freshman who had come to Bryn Mawr through Ivy International. The experience was life changing. Taoli remained with Gray and Salcedo for all four of her years at Bryn Mawr, becoming a true part of the family. “There is so much to gain by hosting an exchange student, and though it is far from easy work, our lives have certainly been enriched by our international daughter,” Gray says. “Language and cultural barriers certainly exist, but we have found that humor, patience and communication allowed us to create a truly familiar environment. Our lives became fuller and now our pantry is stocked with those interesting groceries from the Asian supermarket that we were always curious about, but never dared to buy.”
Above: Martyna and Willow on the first day of school.
Below: Fun in the photo booth on Spirit Day.
Below: Fun in the photo booth on Spirit Day.
In addition, hosting Taoli helped Gray to better understand the experiences of her own students. “Being reminded every day of just how many things our girls are experiencing, both personally and academically, led me to rethink some of my practices and policies as a teacher, such as the quantity and types of homework assignments I give and my late work policy,” Gray says. “Overall, I would say that having Xiaoxiao in my life made me a better teacher.”
Since Taoli graduated in 2016, Gray and Salcedo have kept in close contact with her; this Christmas, they will travel to China to spend the holiday with Taoli and her family. “She’s so excited to introduce us to her grandfather,” Gray says, smiling. “It is a really special bond that we formed.”
Long-term, cross-cultural relationships are huge benefits of hosting, but by no means the only ones. Bryn Mawr alumna Rebekah Robinson ’17 says that her experiences hosting helped prepare her for her own international travel. “After hosting someone, you know how you want to be treated when you go abroad. You want that same sort of respect that you give people when you have them in your home,” Robinson says. “And that goes both ways, because when you go abroad and you’ve been treated really well, you want to then return that kindness to the people who are coming into your home.”
Robinson recalls a particularly memorable experience when, during her exchange trip to Russia, she became ill with food poisoning. “My host mom was amazing. She really stuck by me. I just wanted to provide that same familiarity and comfort to someone in my home, and make sure that they know that they will be taken care of as well.”
Over the course of her Bryn Mawr experience, Robinson and her family hosted several students for both short and long periods of time. One in particular – Robinson’s classmate, Rachel Yan ’17 – spent two Thanksgivings, one Easter and one Christmas with the family. Robinson’s mother, Damien Robinson, says that she loved having the opportunity to both support a student who was far from her own family and to bring another culture into her home. “[By hosting] we get to expose our own children to a different way of life,” Damien says. “It opened our family’s eyes to what it’s like to be in a different culture or background, and all that we take for granted.”
Her advice for another family considering hosting an international student? “Try it, do it, you have to! The benefits that your kids will get from it are enormous. It will open their eyes and give them new perspectives. By hosting an international student, you open your child to a whole new world.”
Are you willing to host an international student for a short or long period of time? Bryn Mawr needs you! For more information about hosting opportunities, please contact Director of Diversity and Global Programs Talia Titus at titust@brynmawrschool.org or Director of Enrollment Management Rebekah Jackson at jacksonr@brynmawrschool.org.
Since Taoli graduated in 2016, Gray and Salcedo have kept in close contact with her; this Christmas, they will travel to China to spend the holiday with Taoli and her family. “She’s so excited to introduce us to her grandfather,” Gray says, smiling. “It is a really special bond that we formed.”
Long-term, cross-cultural relationships are huge benefits of hosting, but by no means the only ones. Bryn Mawr alumna Rebekah Robinson ’17 says that her experiences hosting helped prepare her for her own international travel. “After hosting someone, you know how you want to be treated when you go abroad. You want that same sort of respect that you give people when you have them in your home,” Robinson says. “And that goes both ways, because when you go abroad and you’ve been treated really well, you want to then return that kindness to the people who are coming into your home.”
Robinson recalls a particularly memorable experience when, during her exchange trip to Russia, she became ill with food poisoning. “My host mom was amazing. She really stuck by me. I just wanted to provide that same familiarity and comfort to someone in my home, and make sure that they know that they will be taken care of as well.”
Over the course of her Bryn Mawr experience, Robinson and her family hosted several students for both short and long periods of time. One in particular – Robinson’s classmate, Rachel Yan ’17 – spent two Thanksgivings, one Easter and one Christmas with the family. Robinson’s mother, Damien Robinson, says that she loved having the opportunity to both support a student who was far from her own family and to bring another culture into her home. “[By hosting] we get to expose our own children to a different way of life,” Damien says. “It opened our family’s eyes to what it’s like to be in a different culture or background, and all that we take for granted.”
Her advice for another family considering hosting an international student? “Try it, do it, you have to! The benefits that your kids will get from it are enormous. It will open their eyes and give them new perspectives. By hosting an international student, you open your child to a whole new world.”
Are you willing to host an international student for a short or long period of time? Bryn Mawr needs you! For more information about hosting opportunities, please contact Director of Diversity and Global Programs Talia Titus at titust@brynmawrschool.org or Director of Enrollment Management Rebekah Jackson at jacksonr@brynmawrschool.org.
Above: Jenniffer Gray and Alvaro Salcedo in San Sebastian, Spain, with host daughter Xiaoxiao Taoli '16.
Below, top: Rebekah Robinson '17 and Rachel Yan '17 during winter break.
Bottom: ASSIST exchange student Carla Mackensen with Robinson and Yan before a Bryn Mawr dance.
Below, top: Rebekah Robinson '17 and Rachel Yan '17 during winter break.
Bottom: ASSIST exchange student Carla Mackensen with Robinson and Yan before a Bryn Mawr dance.
Located in Baltimore, Maryland, The Bryn Mawr School is a private all-girls pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school with a coed preschool for ages 2 months through 5 years. Bryn Mawr provides students with exceptional educational opportunities on a beautiful 26-acre campus within the city limits. Inquisitive girls, excellent teaching, strong student-teacher relationships and a clear mission sustain our vibrant school community where girls always come first.