Lessons Learned
At first, it sounded like a joke: “So, you’re going to America, huh?” I heard that from every teacher and relative who knew I had applied for the U.S. Department of State’s Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program and passed the first round of the selection process. After all, I had never had particularly good English training at school, I didn’t take special courses and I have scoliosis. My grandma would call my family asking for news about America, and she relaxed as time went by and America hadn’t sent a word. For most of the people around me, the words “exchange program” were unfamiliar, so they called the FLEX program simply “America.”
Then one day in a phone call from someone with an American accent, my mom learned the amazing news of my acceptance to the FLEX program. With good words from Mom, the Russian anthem in my head and folk crafts in my bag, I was heading to Seattle, Washington, not knowing yet where I would spend my year or what to expect.
There it all started. One after another, I had amazing experiences in different states and with different organizations. After a month-long orientation in Seattle where I lived with a Filipino-American family, I moved to Ohio for my year’s assignment studying at the local high school in Kenton, Ohio, and staying with another host family. I lived with an older couple who were grandparents. Because of their ages, I wasn’t sure what to expect but it worked out great for all three of us. That experience broke a stereotype I had about a typical host family. The lesson: Don’t form an opinion before you get to know a person. I became very close with my host family and am thankful to them for hosting me.
While in the United States, I participated in many different activities, some of which were totally unfamiliar to me. I forgot about my disability and at the same time forgot about being shy and passive. My placement organization, World Link, works with the national Future Farmers of America organization to involve exchange students in community service projects and other activities related to agriculture. In Russia, we have the proverb, “Not all that shines is gold.” I found out that it works backwards, too: Not all great things can be recognized by their names. Future Farmers of America didn’t mean much to me at first, but by the end of the year I felt proud and happy to be a member of that organization, which taught me many leadership skills and helped me to make friends all over the United States.
Out of the variety of experiences, I would like to share three particular experiences. Most kids dream of going to Disney World in Florida. When I got the opportunity to go there, I cried and could not believe it was happening. I even had a chance to play with my high school marching band in a parade on the streets of Disney World. There I thought, “Believing in a dream is a first step to realizing it.”
In Washington, DC, I explored the city and attended workshops organized by the Close Up Foundation. Through that experience, I woke up and realized that it is my duty to study the world and use my knowledge. It is my time to be a leader, to speak up and to stand up for my ideas. I learned that there are people willing to help, and that I can help, too.
The third outstanding experience, a FLEX evaluation workshop, took place at the end of the school year in Eugene, Oregon. Along with other FLEX participants with disabilities from across the country, I discussed my experiences in the program and what I had learned. This opened my eyes. It reminded me how fortunate I am to have had a chance to gain all these experiences, and how important it is now that I share my knowledge and help those who are not as lucky as me. If I cannot make this world better for everyone, I can at least help to make it better for one group of people, or even just one person. I must start with sharing a smile with a pedestrian on the street if I want to make a positive difference in the lives of thousands.
We are called Future Leaders. What do we do to become leaders? One of the most important things that I learned is: To lead a crowd, you have to believe in where you are going. To be a leader, you must start with yourself, setting your own example first.
The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program provides scholarships for high school students from the former Soviet Union to live with host families and attend high school in the United States for one academic year.
