{"id":3294,"date":"2020-05-04T01:44:52","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T01:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/?p=3294"},"modified":"2020-06-07T01:16:08","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T01:16:08","slug":"pingry-cancels-afs-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/2020\/05\/04\/pingry-cancels-afs-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Pingry Discontinues AFS Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]\n

After fifty years of hosting foreign exchange students, Pingry decided to cancel its AFS (American Field Service) program for future years. This news comes alongside the fact that, over Spring Break, the current AFS program was understandably called off due to COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The AFS program allowed a multitude of students from across the world to be a part of the Pingry community. Exchange students would stay with a host family for a year, take classes, and be introduced to a new, Pingry way of life. Through this program, students from Pingry were able to meet people from all around the world. Exchange students could engage in new American experiences, while teaching students from Pingry about their own culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program also involved Pingry\u2019s AFS Club, a student-led club that hosted welcome parties and birthday parties for exchange students. The club\u2019s main purpose was to help exchange students acclimate with their new community. This year the club was led by Alison Lee (VI) and Massa Godbold (V), both of whom loved being a part of the club.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was very rewarding,\u201d Lee mentioned (regarding her experience as a club leader). \u201cThis foreign exchange was very valuable to not just me, but the Pingry community. I\u2019m sad to see it go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will miss my ability to travel abroad without leaving the comfort of the Pingry School,\u201d said Godbold. She\u2019ll really miss getting to know new people and making new friends, \u201cfriends that I will not soon forget and will keep in contact with for as long as possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The faculty advisor for the club, Ms. Julia Dunbar, will also miss the program. \u201cIn my opinion, the best part of the AFS program is the opportunity to meet and work with students from around the world,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pingry\u2019s cancellation of the program was not an easy decision, and there were multiple factors that ultimately decided the program\u2019s fate. The first was the search for host parents. \u201cWhen the program began, many families were eager to host exchange students,\u201d Ms. Dunbar remarked. \u201cIn recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to find families who are able to welcome an exchange student into their homes for an entire school year.\u201d This is the main reason Pingry has decided to cancel the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other factor was the expansion of Pingry\u2019s global programming. AFS was one of Pingry\u2019s first global programs, but now there are many opportunities for students to travel around the world, with immersive trips focused on a variety of subjects. Though programs have had to adapt due to COVID-19, the travel program continues to expand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDespite current conditions, Pingry will continue to build its global programming,\u201d said Ms. Dunbar. \u201cBy expanding our global travel programs, global education will continue to become accessible to even more Pingry students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The program will be missed by Pingry students. Martine Bigos (IV) said, \u201cI think it\u2019s really amazing that AFS gives us the opportunity to meet incredible people from different places every year.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s exchange student was Meina Franzius (V), who came to Pingry from Germany. Even though the program was cancelled early this year, she still took a lot away from it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone at Pingry was really nice; the teachers, the students, everybody,\u201d she commented. She talked to me about her experience at Pingry: \u201cIt was a challenge at first, but I really enjoyed the classes. The school was totally different than my school in Germany, but I really miss it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of great things. I really miss everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ashleigh Provoost (IV) After fifty years of hosting foreign exchange students, Pingry decided to cancel its AFS (American Field Service) program for future years. This news comes alongside the fact that, over Spring Break, the current AFS program was understandably called off due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[219,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid-19","category-school-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3294"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3327,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3294\/revisions\/3327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}