Every year, hundreds of young Ukrainian students aged between 16 and 18 are sent to America as part of the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) to spend one year living and studying as a normal American high school student.
FLEX is a program of the United States Department of State and is administered byKyiv-based American Councilsfor International Education and supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
To-date, over 6,500 Ukrainian students have participated in the program and interest is not about to slow down any time soon.
“The FLEX program gives you glasses through which you start seeing and thinking differently, not just in a Ukrainian way,” says former FLEX student Ihor Parkhomenko.
Every year, around 10,000 young Ukrainians from all over the country apply. After three rounds of selection, a Washington-based panel selects 250 of them for placements all over the U.S. from Alaska’s icy peaks to the Louisiana’s low-lying bayou.
Brad Miller, FLEX Program hub director, says that the aim of FLEX is two-pronged. “From a soft diplomacy point of view, we are trying to teach people about America” says Miller. “As with most exchange programs,” Miller continues, “there’s also a knowledge transfer.”
“A good piece of what they [FLEX students] do in America is volunteering, like working with school clubs on fundraising or volunteering in seniors’ homes, churches or with disability groups,” says Miller. Upon returning to Ukraine, FLEX participants are encouraged to use their new skills with the help of FLEX alumni grants.
Students are chosen based on their level of English, academic results, maturity and the student’s ability to thrive in an overseas environment. FLEX encourages applications from Ukrainian students with disabilities.
Ihor Parkhomenko now works as an international contact manager for a football company in his hometown Poltava. When he was 16 he went as a FLEX student to Michigan after hearing positive stories from past FLEX students.
Despite being the only Ukrainian student at his school, he had a great time. “Everyone was very friendly and everyone got to know me,” says Ihor Parkhomenko.
“I think I’m one of the luckiest exchange students,” he remembers fondly. “I was treated really well by the host family. We have stayed in touch ever since and I have been back to visit and they came to Ukraine too.”
Taras Varava, another FLEX alumnus, believes the program has positive and lasting consequences that go beyond having fun and making lifetime friends. “FLEX teaches you to think independently,” Taras says. “You spend a year on your own, learning to manage your own expenses and everything else, which is all useful for the rest of your life,” explains Taras.
The first round of testing for the 2012-2013 intake will take place in September.
Kyiv Post staff writer Will Fitzgibbon can be reached at [email protected]
