Jay Dee, Wendy Janzen, and their two kids, Ben and Maddie, picked up their 7th foreign exchange student, Ariane Sololuze in Lincoln last month!
It all started for the Jay Dee and Wendy Janzen family back in 2013. Little did they know when they accepted their first foreign exchange student into their home that she would be the first of many more they welcomed to the heartland of Nebraska. Back in August, they picked up Ariane Sololuze at the Lincoln airport after she arrived from Basque Country, in northwest Spain. She is their seventh foreign exchange student in the last 11 years! Here, she is pictured before her first day of school at Heartland Community Schools.
Jay Dee and Wendy live on a farm just west of Henderson with their two children, Ben, a freshman at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, and Maddie, a sophomore at Heartland Community Schools. Even with their busy lives, Jaydee farms, and Wendy works at the Farm Service Agency in Aurora; they’ve made time to host foreign exchange students.
Maddie was only five and Ben seven when they hosted their first exchange student, Lisa, from Germany. “It seems normal to me to take strangers in to live with us,” said Maddie laughingly. She and her brother have grown up alongside the experience of helping foreign exchange students learn about what it’s like to live in rural Nebraska.
“My favorite part about having exchange students is that we get to see what the culture of other countries is like. They bring that with them, and it’s cool to see how life works in other parts of the world. It’s been incredibly fun,” said Ben.
The Janzens were first exposed to the idea of hosting students after talking to friends Evan and Kristen Friesen in early July of 2013, who had just hosted a student. They were also influenced by other friends in the Henderson area who had been hosts. Within three weeks, they followed their lead, hooked up with the company they had used, EF (Education First), and never looked back.
They have had nothing but good experiences using EF and appreciate the time and thoroughness EF puts into ensuring it’s a good fit for both the foreign exchange student and the family. “We have to do a background check every time we plan on hosting and do a very thorough family profile,” said Wendy.
There is much planning to be done before a family is matched up with a student, and Heartland Community Schools only allows two foreign exchange students per year. “We have to let the school know well ahead of time if we plan on hosting since there are only two spots,” said Wendy.
After completing all the preliminary paperwork, the host family is sent several resumes of potential students to choose from. From there, it’s up to EF to complete the process and finalize their choice. The EF coordinator, Hannele Plettner, lives nearby in Sutton and assists them in completing the process.
It’s competitive for applicants from foreign countries to get into the program, and Ariane said she started the application process over a year ago. She is 15 and beginning her sophomore year in high school, the same as Maddie. Ariane is the youngest foreign exchange student their family has hosted.
Ariane before her first day of school at Heartland.
“Our experience of hosting students and welcoming them into our home over the years has been a blessing to our family in so many ways,” said Wendy. “We like to get them here a few weeks before school starts so we can have some time to get to know them,” said Jay Dee. He especially enjoys taking them to the York County Fair, where their family is heavily involved in 4-H and showing livestock.
“Not only have we given students from other countries a place to stay while they develop in the English language and have some amazing experiences while here, but we have also been able to open our children’s eyes and ours to the larger world and make lifelong relationships that we will only grow and be better for. It’s also just been so much fun!” said Wendy.
The Janzens have hosted five girls and two boys. Here are the names of all their previous exchange students and where they were from:
- Lisa Koslowski – Germany – 2013-14
- Emmy Keysendal – Sweden – 2014-15
- Max Gumpoldsberger- Austria – 2016-17
- Anna-Victoria Kollerup – Denmark – 2019-20
- Celesta Teijema – The Netherlands- 2021-22
- William Nielson – Denmark – 2022-23
Another perk of hosting foreign exchange students has been reconnecting with them over the years, said the Janzens. Several years ago, they traveled to Sweden to see Emmy. Wendy and Ben had the opportunity to meet up with three of their former exchange students while they were in Europe with the Nebraska of Ambassadors music trip in 2023. Pictures show them meeting Lisa (left) and Celesta (right) in Germany.
Many of their host students have been able to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities. Celesta was a starter on the Heartland girls’ basketball team and went on to play basketball at Pratt Community College in Kansas. She’s now at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, where she plays basketball. “Celesta is like one of our kids since we see her so often, and now that she and Ben are both at Bethel,” said Jay Dee.
Their previous student in 2023, William, experienced success running track and making it to the Nebraska State Track meet in 2023. Ariane is out for volleyball this year and plans on playing basketball, too.
“The Heartland administration, teachers, and all staff have been incredibly welcoming to all our host students,” said Wendy. “We’ve never had any issues with them being accepted and welcomed by anyone in the school, community, or church.”
The only negative for the Janzens has been saying goodbye! “I always think it will get easier, but it doesn’t when it’s time for them to go home,” said Wendy. They also had a short experience with their exchange student, Anna-Victoria, who was already in a late placement with them because she had to leave her original host family in the area due to a family emergency.
The Janzens were asked to host her around Labor Day temporarily, but within a few weeks, they decided to keep her for the year. By March 2020, EF recalled all students back home because of COVID-19, so Anna-Victoria and the Janzens regretted not getting the full experience they usually enjoyed with their students.
Wendy said this may be their last time hosting a student, but you never know. “I’d love to travel the world to see all of them, but we talk frequently with them and keep up on social media.” Several of their former students have also come back to visit them.
Even if the Janzens stop at number seven, they will have built lifelong relationships and great memories of their family experiences hosting foreign exchange students!
