CAYA brings 22 foreign exchange students to MHCC

This spring, 22 foreign exchange students will come to Mt. Hood to expand their leadership skills in a special, ecology-based program.

The Central American Youth Abroad (CAYA) program will bring students from five different countries – Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic – to the U.S. to study leadership and other ways they can help their home communities.

According to Nikki Gillis, International Scholarship programs coordinator at Mt. Hood, the CAYA program is a special partnership between the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Youth Programs Division, Georgetown University’s Center for Intercultural Education and Development, and MHCC.

A handful of other American colleges and universities also participate in CAYA, but this will be a new venture for Mt. Hood – which will soon see its SEED program, which has brought many Latin American students to Gresham, end with the loss of federal funding.

These visitors will not be the first group of foreign students to come through Mt. Hood’s campus this year. Back in January, Gillis hosted 25 students from five different countries for one week.

Looking ahead, Gillis said, “It’s a really short program, but it is a pretty packed week, full of workshops and activities.”

The CAYA workshops include varying subjects, but are centered around leadership and community engagement, Gillis said. “We do the whole rock climbing and team-building experiences, we’ll take them to see the Rose Garden (in Portland)… and a tour of the Columbia River Gorge, so they get to see the beautiful environment in which we live,” she said.

Later, during July, three David Douglas High School students and a mentor will head south as part of a Youth Ambassadors Program linked to Mt. Hood’s CAYA connection.

Gillis said the CAYA actitivies will be these foreign students’ first time in the United States. While here, they will have the chance to connect with nonprofit organizations such as Trash For Peace and Agua Pura para la Vida (“pure water is life”). Trash For Peace re-uses excess materials instead of throwing them in the garbage. Agua Pura para la Vida is an international organization that goes to rural communities throughout Central and South America and helps educate residents on water safety and how to obtain clean water. She said this is particularly important to students.

“They are awesome, and do tons of good things in the community” upon their return, she said of the visitors.

Follow-up surveys show that “one of the highlights for many, many students was living with the (American) host family and seeing what getting to see what life was like living in another place,” said Gillis.

Gillis is seeking host families in Gresham-Portland for the 22 students coming May 26 to June 1.

Homes offered need to be safe, and place where students can be welcomed, she said. “Students don’t necessarily speak English, so Spanish-speaking homes are helpful.”

For full host family requirements, and more information on the CAYA program, please email Gillis at [email protected].