Cultural Exchange Opportunities

Host an Italian student, your student is invited to Italy

Join the Ergon cross cultural exchange program and host an Italian student next fall semester or school year! The Italian family will offer your son or daughter a direct exposure to Italian culture through an all-expenses paid summer vacation in Italy and Ergon sponsors the flight!  Ergon specializes in a rigorous selection process ensuring that students are academically strong, responsible, and proficient in English; we devote great care to matching students with host families. Students are fully insured and arrive with pocket money for all expenses, including recreation activities and vacations.

Click here to meet two Italian exchange students looking for MIHS host families.

The Ergon cross cultural exchange program devotes great care to selecting students and matching them with host families. To complete the cultural exchange, your son or daughter will enjoy an-all expense paid Italian vacation to visit the family of your Italian student in the summer of 2025, and Ergon sponsors the flight!  To learn more, visit www.ergon-se.org and e-mail  info@ergon-se.org.

Sharing your home with an Italian student often turns into long-term friendships for parents and children alike. Read testimonial by Jayme Witman, has to say about her experience with hosting an exchange student. Recent MIHS parents, Helen Kelly, helenpainterkelly@outlook.com and Collin and Jillian Hagstrom, collin@westlakeassociates.com will also be happy to share their experience with potentially interested families.

Host an exchange student from our sister city Thonon-les-Bains, France.

Mercer Island Sister City Association is a nonprofit, community based organization promoting educational, cultural and other exchanges between the citizens of Thonon-les-Bains, France and Mercer Island, Washington. Twenty years ago we traveled to Thonon as well as to other cities in France and decided that Thonon was a great, safe city for our children to visit in a cultural exchange. Besides school exchanges, we have done house exchanges, family visits, kid sports and adult educational exchanges. In addition Mercer Island Sister Cities over the years has awarded graduating seniors $15,000 in scholarships.

This is a reciprocal exchange program for your student and a student from France. It could be a summer visit, a semester of study or a full year of study at one of our French high schools.  It's not necessary that your student studies French - even if they want to participate in an exchange to Thonon, we encourage everybody to visit. We will work with each family/person to customize their international experience in Thonon-les-Bains.

For more information please visit Mercer Island Sister City Association website.