IN THIS SECTION:

Recognizing Local Coordinators

2011 Hall of Fame Inductees

Dina Berg
Region: South Carolina
Years in Services: 3+ Years

How Dina builds strong relationship with students and host families...
"I really enjoy getting to know each student and each host family - we all have a common interest! I have a lot of parties/get-togethers at my house July - October so everyone has a chance to come over and get to know everyone else in the group. We are our own little "AYA" family and everyone seems to get along perfectly - all of the families support each other and help each other ALL the time! We are together on the weekends doing things all the time!!"

Laurie Jacobsen
Region: Missouri
Years in Services: 2+ Years

One of Laurie's most successful community service projects:
Last year a group of four girls sewed 12 dresses in one day for the Little Dresses for Africa Project that PBS personality Nancy Zieman sponsors. It was a Global Youth Service Project. All four girls had been enrolled in a fashion design class at Oak Park High School and were eager to test their skills. With borrowed sewing machines, a little help from their LC and some Oreo cookies and tea it was fun and productive day.

Nancy Stubbs
Region: Iowa
Years in Services: 5 Years

Two of Nancy's top cultural activities:
Trips to the Park or Mall - My students do a survey of languages being spoken around them by others who visit those venues. Sometimes my students strike up conversations with foreign people and they learn much about the diversity of America. The students are always thrilled with these trips and can not stop talking about them!

Horseback Riding - Every year I take my students horse back riding and they learn about Free Market Economy. Anne, who owns the horse farm, was a HS exchange student to Finland in the 1970's and learned to ride horses English style while there.

Go to LC of the Month

LC of the Quarter

Brenda Danielowicz
Written by Michael Falvey

You might find me saying that our Local Coordinators are the pulse of AYA. We look to all of you to breathe life into our program as you speak with your potential host families, schools, and communities. The pulse of course comes from your heart that you put into finding wonderful homes for our students and the breath represents your spirit which helps to carry it from year to year.

With that said I would like to give a big thank you to Brenda Danielowicz who while working with AYA for just a couple of years has shown great patience and compassion for everything that comes with the responsibilities of being a local coordinator. She has a very kind way about her that I have no doubt comes through while working with her area. She does a great job communicating with our offices, families and schools while working on finding wonderful homes for our students and is a team player who is always willing to help. Lets all congratulate Brenda who I look forward to meeting in Florence Italy.

Student Choice Awards… LC of the Month Raffle!

AYA gives its students the opportunity to nominate their LC at any time during their program for recognition and reward as LC of the Month. Students email AYA with their heartwarming nominations, including some wonderful stories about the great things LCs do, the ways LCs make them feel special, and activities they enjoyed. A committee from AYA reviews the submissions each month and selects one winner each month who receives a $50 gift card and mention here on the AYA website.

In June 2011, AYA pooled the names of all LCs of the Month for 2010-11 in a raffle to receive an American Express gift card valued at $500. The winner selected at random was Sue Schriever of Nebraska! Congratulations Susan. Many thanks to all the LCs of the Month and to the many more who do amazing work with AYA students!

LC of the Month

November 2011

Cornelia Brown

My Local Coordinator Cornelia Brown is doing a lot for me and the other students in her area. She already helped me with a few problems and is also doing a lot of things with our exchange group of 2 guys from Korea, 2 from China, 1 from Brazil and me. I am so happy to have her as my Local Coordinator. She always knows how to react to the situation. She helped me when I was homesick: she gave me a tip to do a lot of activities with my friends, and she brought me to her church Youth Club to forget a bit of my homesickness. I really want to thank you that you gave me Cornelia Brown as my Local Coordinator.
- Florian from Germany

LCs of Previous Months

LCs of Previous Quarters

Jennifer Janecek | Mary Payne Hairald | Marilyn Murchie | Sheila Green | Shirley Jackson

LC of the Quarter

Shirley Jackson, New Jersey
Nominated by Alisha Collins

Here at Academic Year in America, we pride ourselves on the quality of service that we provide to our overseas partners, our students and our volunteer host families. In order for us to extend our services to both our students and host families, we rely heavily on our Local Coordinators. Our Local Coordinators are so vital to our mission of cultural exchange as they are the face of AYA in their local communities and they are an integral part of the placement and supervision process for our exchange students. As expected, our Local Coordinators follow an important list of guidelines when placing and supervising students, but it is those LC’s that go above and beyond that make this program so successful. I am proud to announce the LC of the Quarter, Shirley Jackson of New Jersey for her efforts beyond what is expected.

Shirley Jackson has placed numerous students over the years for AYA and in my short time as her Regional Director, she has been one of my LC’s that I can reach out to, for just about anything. Shirley’s passion for cultural exchange is infectious throughout her community and she has built flourishing relationships with host families and school administration in order to carry out our mission. Not only does she form relationships with her families and schools, she builds life long relationships with both the students she’s placed and hosted. Her exchange student Nina, 1997 states: "I was an exchange student in 1997 and was so fortunate for having Shirl Jackson as my local coordinator. She was more than that, she was my friend, my NJMom, my angel - and still is! Since then we became family and I just have to thank God daily for having such a special person in my life!" Shirley’s commitment to AYA and its mission are appreciated and we can’t thank her enough for all her hard work.

Previous Hall of Fame Inductees

2010 | 2009

2009 Hall of Fame Inductees

Anita Senesac
Region: Indiana
Years in Services: 11+ Years

Anita Quotables - On cultural activities:
"We took a trip that revolved around the theme of Abraham Lincoln. We started out in our city of Fort Wayne, Indiana by visiting the Lincoln Museum. This is a very hands on museum and since many of the students take U.S. History, it helped bring to life some of the things they learned in class. We then traveled to both Kentucky and Illinois to visit the childhood home of Lincoln and to retrace the route he took when he traveled by train during the year of his election. The students were also able to visit the place where he stood to make his famous Emancipation speech."

Christine Gaffner
Region: Indiana
Years in Services: 4+ Years

Christine Quotables:
"Working with the youth of the world in the AYA, FLEX, and YES Programs has opened eyes all around my region to the fact that we are not the only ones in the world. People in my area, schools, and even my own home have a wider outlook on what is going on in the world today."

Marilyn Murchie
Region: Montana
Years in Services: 2+ Years

Marilyn Quotables:
"The most rewarding community and volunteer service for my students has been spending time with the elderly at the assisted living and nursing homes. Though it was somewhat difficult for some, because they had not experienced being around elderly people before, the students found it to be rewarding as they received expressions of appreciation for doing a variety of things with them such as putting nail polish on the ladies' nails, reading them stories, going for walks, helping them with their meals, sharing with them about their countries, and just being their offering them friendship, kind words and smiles."

Sheri Schuster
Region: Idaho
Years in Services: 8+ Years

Sheri Quotables:
"I always try to be involved in both the Host families and students lives. This can mean supporting them in sports activities, family events or just being a shoulder to lean on when they need encouragement. I always try to give them 100%. I have also tried to be a big part of the Orientations we have for all the students. I have always tried to be a supportive Local Coordinator and friend to all my Regional directors and also the AYA Staff."

Tony Barnett
Region: Washington State
Years in Services: 5+ Years

Tony Quotables - On being inducted:
"I've become known in my area as a person who runs a premiere program and I am starting to get people calling me wanting to be a part of our program. Students and families always comment on how they appreciate the ongoing support and availability and the many activities that we provide for our students and families to participate in."