Help desk technician hosts exchange students

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  • By Mike Molina
  • Editor
DENVER --  In 1985, Phil Burrell was an Airman stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin. It was there he began to appreciate the value of learning about a different culture. 

"You kind of get adopted by the local community," Mr. Burrell of SC, said. "I always told myself, 'When I'm able to, I will pay it forward.'" 

For the past six years, Mr. Burrell has been "paying it forward" by opening his home to foreign exchange students from across the world. 

"It provides a sense of value and family," Mr. Burrell said. "I enjoy doing for others." 

This year, Mr. Burrell is a volunteer host parent with the Future Leaders Exchange program. FLEX is a scholarship-based program that gives teenagers from the former Soviet Union a chance to live and go to school in the United States. The program is sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of State and allows students to spend one academic year in the United States. 

On Aug. 6, he met Igor Myakotim, a 15-year old from Magadan, Russia, who Mr. Burrell will be hosting for the next nine months. 

In previous years, he welcomed students from Berlin and Cologne, Germany; and the Czech Republic. 

"It's a bit of a culture shock sometimes (for them)," Mr. Burrell said. "I give them time to get situated and then we go over the rules." 

The rules are easy, he said: Vacuum, take out the garbage, do your own laundry and be home for dinner at 6 p.m. Curfew is 9 p.m. on school nights, and midnight on weekends. 

Mr. Burrell lets the students use a laptop with wireless internet, and gets them a separate phone line. 

He doesn't get paid for it, but that's fine with him, Mr. Burrell said. Being a host parent is more about giving back to others who want to learn about the United States, and provide him with an opportunity to continue to learn about other cultures. 

"I encourage everyone who's able to to do it," Mr. Burrell said. "There are always students who want to come to America but can't because there aren't enough host families."