Travel
HOW TO SIGN UP
Any current senior at an American Exchange Project partner high school on track to graduate is eligible to participate in an exchange. Our sign-up form will gather some basic information on our students’ interests, hometowns, plans for the future, and availability in the summer. Our placement team will reference this information when pairing students with their exchange town and group.
Following sign-up, students are expected to spend the fall and winter getting to know their classmates on their town’s American Exchange Project Committee, brainstorming for their Hometown Week, and joining fun service projects and activities.
For students, please also be sure to consult with your school’s Exchange Manager before signing up. Meet all our Exchange Managers at the bottom of our “About Us” page.
DISCOVERING YOUR DESTINATION
All of the American Exchange Project’s partner schools designate a day in early March for an AEP Day celebration. On AEP Day, the community comes together to cheer students on as they open a letter revealing where in the United States they’re headed for Travel Week. The dates of each student’s Hometown and Travel Weeks will also be confirmed on this day. AEP Day is a time to embrace the adventure and signals the final stretch before the summer of discovery ahead.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
All activities on every American Exchange Project itinerary for both Hometown and Travel Week will fit into one of the following categories: cultural immersion, community events, professional development, and volunteer/service to gain exposure to local issues. That said, each itinerary is unique to each town.
The American Exchange Project aims to help students experience different ways of living in both their hometown and another part of the country—and what better way to do that than good old-fashioned fun? See what that looks like for yourself here.
BEFORE THE ADVENTURE
In the months leading up to Travel Week, all AEPers will Zoom with their travel Exchange Managers, their host families, and the students they will be traveling with. These Zooms are essential in setting up a smooth travel day and a great Travel Week. We also encourage our students to review the packing checklist and the itineraries for both their Hometown and Travel Weeks.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS
During Travel Week, American Exchange Project students will be traveling to host towns across the country. AEPers receive itineraries from their travel Exchange Managers. After reaching their exchange towns, they’ll participate in a week’s worth of incredible local activities and events with fellow travelers from across America, all while staying with a local host family.
Over Hometown Week, students help welcome fellow AEPers to their community and experience the itinerary they spent the year designing alongside them. Travel and Hometown Weeks are not necessarily consecutive.
Host
COMMUNITY LEADERS
Each of AEP’s communities is anchored by a volunteer Community Leader, who brings everyone together for Hometown Week by identifying resources (like venues or restaurants), local organizations who want to help, and activities.
A great Community Leader is always up-to-date with local events and happenings of interest and can help broker activities or meals during exchanges as a result of their relationships.
Contact our Community Relations team about becoming a Community Leader here.
HOST FAMILIES
The host family is at the core of the American Exchange Project experience. Through their host family, students experience day-to-day life in their host town, and families get to share what they love most about their community with someone from a completely different part of the country. Host family stipends help offset the costs of meals and transportation.
To learn more, click here to read FAQs for host families.
HOST STUDENTS
It is NOT mandatory for students to host a traveler in their home to join the American Exchange Project. However, hosting opens the door for deep and lifelong bonds with visiting students, provides one of the most important means of support for the Hometown Week exchange, and is a unique way to learn about another part of America firsthand from someone who lives there. View FAQs here and sign up as a host family here.
EXCHANGE MANAGERS
An Exchange Manager is students’ main point of contact throughout their American Exchange Project journey and is responsible for guiding home students and visiting students through the Hometown Week exchange. This is a paid position.
Between the fall and students’ summer Travel Weeks, Exchange Manager responsibilities include coordinating student travel, working with students to build a Hometown Week itinerary, and communicating with families in the school and community about AEP. Activities with student involvement take place through the school American Exchange Project Committee, also managed by the Exchange Manager.
A great Exchange Manager has a clear understanding of not only each of their students as individuals, but of the social dynamics of their exchange group and school community at large. Contact our Community Relations team about becoming an Exchange Manager here.
HOST FAMILY COORDINATOR
A Host Family Coordinator takes the lead on finding local families who are able to open their homes to visiting students during Hometown Week.
A great Host Family Coordinator is familiar with houses of worship, civic and social clubs, community bulletins, and other social networks in town and is comfortable with reaching out to a variety of residents to identify host families.
Contact our Community Relations team about becoming a Host Family Coordinator here.
