N.B. international student program seeks host families as demand increases

Over the past two years, the New Brunswick International Student Program saw a decline in its numbers — for both students and host families — but two years later, the demand is greater than it’s ever been.

Jeff Holder, the director for the NBISP, said the program is seeing increased demand even well above pre-pandemic levels.

“Our numbers certainly went down, but now our numbers are up and they are above the pre-pandemic level going into the fall, which is why we’re in a position now to recruit more homestays, because we’re looking almost a hundred more students coming this fall than what we would have had pre-pandemic,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

The New Brunswick International Student Program draws students from around the world from ages 11 to 18 and allows them to stay for two to four months, one semester or up to a full academic year.

There are placements available all across the province, according to Holder.

“We have about 642 students that are scheduled to come to New Brunswick this fall,” he said.

He said both natural circumstances and the growth of the program have contributed to the growing need for host families.

“The homestay piece is sort of the foundation of the program. Without homestay families, we don’t really have a program to offer.”

Janice Chaput is one of the co-ordinators for the program and acts as a host with her husband. She started hosting two students a year in 2016.

“It’s been absolutely wonderful. We’ve had students from Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, Mexico. So we’ve had quite a few countries. Learnt a lot about the countries,” she said in an interview on Thursday.

One of the things Chaput enjoys is sharing the different foods.

“You’re learning so much about both of the cultures,” she said.

One of her students from Brazil was a big fan of McDonald’s.

“Where she lives, it was a two-hour drive,” she said. “The school that she goes to at FHS (Fredericton High School), it’s right across the street.”

She said the families do activities together and explore all the things New Brunswick has to offer. The program also tries to carefully match the student with a family that shares interests and commonalities.

“We are looking for anybody who is looking to be a host family,” she said, adding that the main thing people need to know is that they don’t have to have children to be a host family.

Jill Steever has hosted two students, with her current student having come all the way from Germany. They’ve become very close, she said.

“We learn a lot from them,” she said. “What things we share and what are some differences.”

She said it also allows students to experience something they could never learn in the classroom, being immersed in another culture, adding that it’s well worth it to host an international student.

“It’s like adding someone into your family. It’s not something they can learn in a classroom or by a book. They are experiencing it,” she said.

Steever said anyone considering being a host family shouldn’t let anything get in their way.

Anyone who wants to learn more about the program or get involved as a host family can do so by visiting NBISP.ca or talking to the local co-ordinator.