Greenheart Exchange has been a sponsor of the J-1 Exchange Visitor visa since 1985. In our first year, we helped seven Spanish students find host families and attend high school in the U.S. on the J-1 visa. Now, we welcome over 1,000 participants each year who live with American families and study in high schools all across America.
In the next few lines, Faith Morse, Greenheart’s Regional Manager, shares with us a beautiful story of Luis, the natural dad of Spanish exchange student Sofia:
“What to do when your daughter is having an exchange year in Maine and is 3700 miles away from her family in Spain. Well, Sofia’s dad did what any father would do, if all fathers could fly! He’s an international pilot and this week he did a fly by!
In the photo above Sofia’s dad is in the cockpit showing Sofia’s American homes location on his instrumentation. Photos below show the conveniently located river near the Morgan’s host family home that easily identifies where his little girl will happily live for the 10 months! Things you can’t see from 25,000 feet?
Sofia has a younger sister and little brother who she is falling in love with. They have a dog and a pool in the back yard and her school is walking distance to the beach! What’s not to love! When I met Sofia’s host family they told me, “We bought a home with hosting in mind, we wanted the extra space to be able to offer our children the experience of having exchange students in our home and as a part of our family!”
Thank you Faith and Luis for sharing such an inspiring story with us! Here’s to wishing Sofia an unprecedented exchange year.
Interested in hosting a Greenheart Exchange high-school student like Sofia? Visit HostwithGreenheart.org to learn more, to Meet our Students, and to apply.