Alberton family will welcome exchange student

In August, a teenaged girl will fly more than 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Thailand to live in Alberton for the school year.

She’s a part of Council for Education Travel, USA (CETUSA), a nonprofit international student exchange program for high school students. Kids come from Latin America, Asia and Europe to live with host families and experience American culture.

Local Alberton resident Zelma Kromrey will welcome the high schooler into her home to live with her family and she will attend Alberton High School.

Kromrey says it brings diversity to both the exchange students and Montana students.

“They really get to learn about all these other cultures,” Kromrey said. “They really get a sense of what it would be like, that’s what’s really fun. You don’t know half the stuff that’s going on in other countries till you sit done with the students.”

Kromrey is CETUSA’s regional director for Montana where she hires and trains other local coordinators. She’s been with CETUSA for three years and she is about to host her sixth foreign exchange student at her home in Alberton. She’s hosted students from South Korea, Italy, China and Thailand.

“I’ve always been interested in the foreign exchange program ever since I had foreign exchange students in my school,” Kromrey said.

There are currently about six students in Montana right now, but Kromrey hopes to place 25. She had seven students in Alberton alone last year, and she also placed students in Frenchtown, Arlee, Cascade and Great Falls.

In addition to a more culturally diverse school environment, the exchange students also add more numbers to rural areas with low enrollment.

Alberton High School had only 32 enrolled students in grades 9-12 in the 2018-2019 school year, according to Public School Review. The schools are also compensated for hosting exchange students through CETUSA.

“I know since I’m involved in the school quite a bit, I’m always hearing about numbers.” Kromrey says. “It’s nice to help get a little enrollment for them.”

CETUSA also provides an outbound program for American students who want to be foreign exchange students. Kromrey helps place students in a country that best suits the individual and helps students with scholarships. She says scholarships are especially important for Mineral County’s smaller communities. Her daughter will travel to Spain this school year for six months.

CETUSA was founded in 1995 and has coordinated exchanges for 80,000 students and students will have a semester to a year-long exchange with a host family, according to the CETUSA website.

Students must be 15 to 18 years old and have at least three years of English language and they must have a B- or higher overall grade point average.

Kromrey has seen positive responses from host families in Montana, and some families said it was the best year of their life when they hosted an exchange student. Exchange students form close bonds with their host families and they get to know the family very well.

“They’re family for life,” Kromrey said.

Families interested in hosting an exchange student can contact Zelma Kromrey at 406-880-2177 or zelma.kromrey@cetusa.org.