YES!

YES!

The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program is the reason behind this blog.

The program was found by the US Congress after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The program is funded by the US Department of State for it offers high school students (ages 15-17) a full scholarship to go the United States and live with an American host family while attending an American high school. The YES program is found in about 40 countries mainly in the Arab world and the Muslim world.

While being on the YES program, students gain life long skills such as leadership skills, communication skills and much more. YES students become ambassadors of their home countries while being in the States for they teach Americans about their culture, traditions, believes and details of the daily life. At the same time, YES students learn about the American life style, traditions, holidays and activities.

Since the participants of the YES program are between the age of 15 and 17 years, it is no question that it impacts them on a wide scale. For one thing, students become more mature and gain the skill of adapting to new situations they face in real life. The YES program takes the students out of their comfort zone by sending them to live with a host family different from their birth family so they have to be flexible enough to adapt. Also, attending an American high school could be very intimidating for most since American high schools are in general very different from high schools back home, thus by being put in a new environment with complete strangers teaches students how to build new relations and deal with different people. Moreover, the YES program provides students with leadership skills. Students participate in a very wide range of activities that help students with these skills such as presenting about their home countries, volunteering, sports and much more. Also, the YES program opens not only participating students but also the society around them to diversity. While being on the program, students meet people from different races, backgrounds, religions and learns to accept them while they accept him/her in return. In addition to that, the YES program gives the students independence and a sense of responsibility. Although students have a huge support system while being in the States; from the host family to the community representative to the community itself.., it is the student's job to get the most of the YES experience. From managing pocket money to choosing the right courses, every single detail of each day teaches the students something about independence and responsibility. Most importantly, the YES program boosts the student's self confidence to a complete new level. From the moment the student gets the "YOU ARE NOW A YES STUDENT!" , self confidence starts to build up. The feeling of accomplishment is very rewarding to oneself. Meeting new people, gaining a new family, changing someone's life and one's own life are only few among many reasons as to why YES students build self confidence while being on the program.

Although some think that coming back home is the end of the journey, it is in fact just the start. The mission of YES students never ends. After coming back home, students teach people about the American society and people. Students also take the skills they gained while being on the program and implement them to projects in their home countries. YES students become active members in their societies and help improve their country via community service projects done with other YES alumni or even individual efforts.

The YES program isn't about spending one year abroad, coming back home and that's it. It is much more than that. Not only does it transform students from teenagers to responsible effective members of their societies, but also widens their options for the future. For instance, the YES program opens the eyes of the students to options they didn't know they existed before. The YES program provides students with a large social network with people in different areas of the world and different majors. Also, the YES program encourages students to take control and lead projects that in direct and indirect ways prepares them for future jobs.

The YES program changed my life in ways can't be put into words. I am very thankful to have been able to be part of it.

Thank you YES, thank you US, thank you all for believing in me.

*To read more about the YES program, kindly visit the link :
http://yesprograms.org/

**To read more about my personal experience, kindly check out my other posts that I hope you find interesting.