Our girls are not from wealthy families. They are both here on US State Department scholarships, one directed toward students from former Soviet countries (FLEX) and the other for students from Muslim countries (YES). They both get about $125 a month for basic expenses, their transportation was paid for, and our family gets a small tax break for opening our home to them.
So, it is not shocking that in return they are asked to provide a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer work during their time in the US. They are also encouraged to pursue a Presidential volunteerism award that requires 100 hours of service. Most students are eager to earn this award, and it looks great on their resume in the future, especially if they return to the US for any reason.
However, we were not shocked to hear that "Oksana" had no intention of pursuing the presidential award, and that she thought even 10 hours a semester was not beneath her. "Nasreen", on the other hand, was eager to complete the whole requirement.
Last week, Oksana came home from school with some fresh insight. She had been talking to some exchange students from Germany and Italy. They also had competed to earn their place as an exchange student, but their parents had to contribute about $10,000 and ongoing money for additional expenses.
It was the first time Oksana realized the value of what she has been given this year. She told me that she now understood why she was being asked to give back through community service, and a few days later even indicated she wanted to give 100 hours of service, not just the minimum.
We spent our weekend serving breakfast at the emergency shelter, helping raise funds for children's charities at Quarry Quest ( www. quarryquest.com ) and also serving food at the Fox Cities Marathon. I wouldn't say that Oksana was giving 100 percent all of the time, but for a girl who thought that volunteering was a waste of her time, I'm pretty proud of her efforts.
8 and and half hours down, 91 and a half hours to go!
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