With a record enrollment of international students anticipated, Wartburg College is seeking more host families.

Jenna Rinehart, director of international student services, said Wartburg expects to enroll 150 international students when the Fall Term begins in September. That would top the previous mark of 129 students from 49 countries at the beginning of the 2011-12 academic year when another 14 enrolled at mid-year.

Rinehart said more than 100 Waverly area families already participate in the International Host Family Program.

“The host families have been a tremendous asset,” she said. “They help the students acclimate to American culture while learning about the student’s country. They also serve as a support system for students who are far from home.”

Host families do not house or act as advisers or financial sponsors to the international students. They simply meet with their student throughout the year to share meals and participate in a variety of cultural activities.

The college holds potluck dinners for the students and host families during the Fall, Winter and May terms.  

International students have been appreciative.

“Everything was culturally alien to me — the food, manner of communication, more or less the way of life, but one begins to adjust,” recalled Nwabunie Nwana, a Wartburg graduate from Nigeria. “The most important factor in my transition was owed to the host family-student relationship.”

More information on the International Host Family Program is available at www.wartburg.edu/intlprog/hostfamily.html, by calling the International Programs Office at 352-8220 or emailing Rinehart at jenna.rinehart@wartburg.edu or JoAnn Strottman, office coordinator, at joann.strottman@wartburg.edu.