For International Education Week this November, KHS student Ayazhan Kabylgazizova visited Hawthorne to present to some of our fourth grade students about her home country of Kazakhstan. She even brought a snack from her home country for the students to try!
Ayazhan is an awardee of the For Future Leaders Exchange Program (Flex) with the ASSE International Exchange Student program to attend KHS and her host parents are Kris and Lori Brewer of Keokuk. FLEX is a highly competitive, merit-based scholarship program funded by the U.S. Department of State. More than 35,000 students compete annually in multiple rounds of testing to earn a FLEX scholarship, which funds a full academic year in the United States while living with a volunteer host family and attending a U.S. high school.
While in the U.S., FLEX students gain leadership skills, learn about American society and values, and teach Americans about their home countries and cultures. FLEX students perform community service in their U.S. communities and act as ambassadors of their home countries. FLEX was created from the belief of former Senator Bill Bradley that the best way to ensure long-lasting peace and mutual understanding between the U.S. and the countries of Eurasia is to enable young people to learn about the U.S. and Americans firsthand, and to teach Americans about their countries.
