Celebrating 75 Years of Exchange: Dave Schrader

After Dave Schrader’s summer in Austria with AFS, he returned back to the US eager to help future exchange students through their programs. He has led orientations for hundreds of departing US students and incoming international students over the years. In this episode, we learn more about these orientations and why they are so important to ensure that students have a great program. Dave also shares about his experience in Austria, and the long relationship he continues to have with his host family. 

In honor of AFS’s 75th anniversary, The AFS Exchange is releasing 4 episodes this month! That’s 4 times the stories of the impact AFS has had over the years. 

Guests:
Dave Schrader
Dona Goede
Martha Friend

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Transcript

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Kate M.
Hello and welcome to The AFS Exchange. I’m Kate Mulvihill. In honor of the 75th Anniversary of AFS, founded in 1947, we will be releasing 4 episodes this month! That’s 4 times the stories of the impact AFS has had on the lives of its participants over the years.

And yes, if we think about 75 years of AFS exchange students… host families… volunteers… sending families… that’s a lot of people. There’s also the friends that students make while on program, their connections with their teachers and other members of their community… How many lives have been affected by AFS at this point? Really? It’s in the millions. I can’t get more exact than that, because there really is no way to measure it. But I’m glad I get to hear a few of them, and share them with you!

So, what’s the goal of AFS? Passing Peace Forward. AFS empowers people to become globally engaged citizens by delivering meaningful intercultural experiences. AFSers help create a more just and peaceful world. And they’ve been doing it for 75 years now!

[Music]

Kate M.
Today I am talking to Dave Schrader, an AFS returnee and volunteer. Dave spent the summer of 1968 living with a host family in Austria. He was so impacted by that experience that he became a volunteer, and he has volunteered for decades in Colorado and California.

We’re going to hear about his program in Austria, and the long relationship he continues to have with his host family. We chat about his role supporting orientations- over the years, he has worked with hundreds of participants. American students going abroad, and international students living with families in the US. We learn more about these orientations and why they are so important to ensure that students have a great program.

Later in the episode, we will also hear from Dona Goede, volunteer and co-chair of the Orientation Advisory Group.

[Music]

Kate M.
Could you please introduce yourself and say where you're located?

Dave S. 
My name is Dave Schrader, I live in Hermosa Beach, California, which is about five, seven miles south of the LAX airport right at the beach.

Kate M.
All right. Pretty nice. How, how long have you been in the LA area?

Dave S.
31 years. So the beach location is good, because we have a lot of our orientation events here. So the students can come swimming and can go play volleyball. We have potlucks, pizza dinners. Usually it's the Arrival orientation. And then the families come and get to know each other. And we also typically do the Departure orientation here since we're near the airport. So students come off and they do an overnight that last night they don't sleep. So it's a very long night if you're the Orientation Coordinator.

Kate M.
But before Dave was the Orientation Coordinator, he went on an AFS program himself. He grew up in northwestern Illinois.

Kate M.   
How did you first hear about AFS?

Dave S. 
When I was in high school, it was a very active chapter. We were hosting a student from the Netherlands. I got interested. And so I applied, it was very competitive in the old days. So I think there were 15 to 20 students. And then the local people whittled it down to three people, sent the paperwork into New York, and I was the lucky winner of it. And so off I went, I did not know where I was going until only a few days before I left because you didn't get to pick.

Kate M.
One of Dave’s friends was the first student from his high school to go. This friend had had three years of French…

Dave S.
…so of course, they sent him to Germany.

Kate M.
Dave had three years of German…

Dave S.
…so I was expecting France, but instead I lucked out and got Austria, where they speak German.

Kate M.  
What was the application process like back then?

Dave S. 
Interviews. Mostly AFS back then was run by the women who were the pillars of the community. A committee of three people plus one of the high school counselors were the organizers for everything. And then they came to the house and they interviewed me, interviewed my family. I remember my mom running around cleaning everything three, four times, so that it would be a perfectly wonderful experience for them. And so you went through the interview process and then you waited. Actually, I didn't find out about the family until I was on the boat. So I was the last of the boat people.

Kate M.
Ah yes, the boat people. At the beginning of AFS’s 75 year history, students would start their program with a boat ride. From 1947 to 1969,  AFS operated boat trips between the United States and Europe. Volunteers would also be on board, and once across the ocean, students would then travel to their host community via train or bus.

Dave S.
Then 600 of us got on the boat to go to Rotterdam. Going to all the different countries, I met the 64 of us that were going for summer programs to Austria. And their three counselors were a couple of staff, and one volunteer, I think, from Austria.
The boat ride was filled with some classes and German. We also learned a little bit about the geography, the culture. We had to learn how to do the waltz on the boat.

[Waltz]

Then we arrived in Rotterdam and all of us going to Austria got on a train headed towards Salzburg. And so I remember we were sticking our heads out the window once we got from Holland into Germany, practicing our German with real live Germans.

When we got to Salzburg, we more or less split into three groups. So 1/3 of the group was going to Vienna, 1/3 were going to Tyrol, and I got on the train that went up and over the Alps. And all along the way every stop, there'd be a little family standing there. And then some kid would hop out with their luggage and we would wave goodbye.

[Train]

Dave S.
I was the last one to get off the train. Because there was only about five miles to Yugoslavia back then.

Kate M.
Wow. The flight from Chicago to New York, the boat ride, the train. So that was nine days?

Dave S.
Yep.

Kate M.
Wow.

Dave S. 
So the train stopped in the town of Leibnitz.
And standing there were Mama, Papa. And their two sons Franz, one year younger, and then a 10 year old named Reinhold. And they didn't have a car. They brought me in by bike. We put my luggage in the church and a rich person with a car was going to bring my luggage to me later. We bicycled to their house. They were great. Mama especially.
The family was very interesting because the father came from over the border in Yugoslavia and had been drafted by the Nazi army. He wasn’t a really a Nazi, he wasn’t pro German policies.

Kate M.
After World War II, Austria was broken up into 4 sectors- the English, the French, the Russian, and the American. Dave’s host mother was from the southeast part of the country, which was managed by the Russians.

Dave S.
The Russians were in charge of that sector and didn't really treat the people very well. So she fled to Salzburg, which was the American sector and she was pro-American.

Kate M.
After his host mother left the American sector and moved back home, she continued to hold the Americans in high regard. So when her son Frantz brought home an AFS flier from school…

Dave S.
…Mama decided she wanted to host an American kid. So, that was me!

Kate M.
Dave had a great summer in Austria. He explored the country with his host family and other AFS participants, he continued to improve his German, and ate local. Very local.

Dave S.
All the food was fresh because mostly it was being grown in the front yard. So how by watering the lettuce, lettuce every day. pumpkin seed oil was the main dressing, no vinaigrette or anything. Fresh bread delivered every morning by the bakery. Almost all the fruits either came out of the Keller, the basement in the barn area. Or if they were in season you had fresh plums, Zwetschge is the German for it. So you get to have Zwetschge  for breakfast. You could have Zwetschgenknoedel, dumplings, at lunchtime, which was the big meal.

Kate M.
And Dave has returned to Austria many times over the years.

Dave S.
Well, I've stayed in touch with that family, mama and papa both passed on. But the two brothers, both married, both have two kids, I actually have taken all of my American brothers and sisters and in-laws plus my parents over to see them on different trips. And two of the daughters of the older brother have been over here to see me. So I think I've done 25 trips, all told, taking people on including friends. So it's really great to have somebody that you know, that you can go visit.

Kate M. 
So you said about 25 trips. Were 24 of those on a plane and one on a boat, or were there other boats?

Dave S.   
Just one, just one boat. Yeah.

Kate M. 
Just one. Okay, yeah, otherwise it’s a lot of vacation days you’d probably have to take. Well, that's great. And the fact that you have been able to go back and share it with the people who are important to you in your life, to introduce to them this valuable experience that you had in Austria.

Dave S.   
It was an excellent experience, it was totally life changing. Because I grew up in the cornfields of Illinois, it was a huge adventure back then to travel anywhere. But traveling outside of the United States was a very unique experience for a student at that time. And it really opened my eyes to the rest of the world.

Kate M.
Dave went to college wanting to be either a German teacher or a Math teacher, and he even spent a year back in Austria, in Saltzburg.

However… he ended up with PhD in Computer Science. But… he isn’t totally disconnected from his earlier interests in Math and German. With Computer Science…

Dave S. 
Well, I use math all the time.

Kate M.
But German? Yes! Before he retired, he worked on database systems for big companies. As his career progressed, he found opportunities to travel to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for work.

Dave S. 
Because of my background, partly because of my AFS background, I ended up becoming a speaker for our advanced development projects. And then I moved into marketing. Because I was very happy to go to Europe, because I would always go visit the family. And I also could speak German to the Swiss, German, and Austrian customers. I didn't need to because their English is quite good. But it really helped out.

Kate M. 
What skills would you say you've gained from your experience as an AFS participant?

Dave S. 
Obviously, the language skills, I think, also social skills. You have to be more outgoing than usual.

Kate M.
Dave recognizes this in himself, but also the students he meets year after year.

Dave S.
But for many students, when they come back, I hear from parents, wow, their personality changed, this kid really opened up. And I see that also in the inbound students, I run the five hosted orientations.

And, you know, we've had a large number of students whose personalities changed. And I think that can be a side effect by just being, you know, more open to new ideas.

Kate M.
Dave’s AFS program in Austria led to relationships based on a foundation of open mindedness… that have lasted for decades. As an Orientation Coordinator, he helps ensure that students have the knowledge and skills to have the best year they can.
So, I want to give you all some more information about AFS’s orientations.

[Music]

Kate M. 
To start, there are the 3 AFS rules that students are taught…

Dave, what are the three AFS rules?

Dave S.
No driving, no hitchhiking, and no drugs.

Kate M. 
Okay. How frequently do you deal with hitchhiking? These days?

Dave S. 
Zero. We've never dealt with that.

Kate M.
But more than that, what are AFS orientations? Well, they are a key part of the program. These orientations cover a whole lot, including intercultural learning, cultural adjustment, and safety topics.

To learn more about orientations, I am including a brief interview here with volunteer and Orientation Advisory Group co-chair Dona Goede. She is being interviewed by fellow co-chair Martha Friend, AFS-USA’s Manager of Intercultural Education and Participant Learning.

Martha F.
All right. Take two. Dona, introduce yourself.

Dona G. 
My name is Dona Goede. I'm a volunteer in Wisconsin. I've been a longtime volunteer at the local level. And because orientations mean so much to me, and I see how helpful  they are to our students. I actually now volunteer nationally on the Orientation Advisory Group.

Martha F. 
Awesome. All right. So who attends an AFS orientation? And what are their roles?

Dona G.  
So as we talk about orientations, it's important to understand we not only have participant orientations, but we also have host family orientations. And we have some teams that bring their host siblings or their exchange siblings with them.
The people running those orientations are a mix of several different groups that we have. There are longtime volunteers that are specifically trained in support issues, or they’re experienced host families, myself, I've hosted eight times, students from all different countries. And so it's important to have those experienced host families there.

The other people we have at those orientations are our returnees, the ones that have traveled abroad. And we even have some reverse returnees- ones that traveled from other countries to the US that are now back in the US.
So having the returnees at orientations is super important because the students see them, as someone who's been in their shoes, has experienced what is going on, has traveled even maybe to their home country. And so it's also someone that's a little closer in age many times to them.

A lot of our volunteers have years of experience, but we're not the same age as the students. And so the returnees a lot of times are just a few years older. And so that really helps the students connect with them. They're the ones that are a lot of times playing the games with them. They're the ones that might start the conversation when we ask about experiences or how they're feeling. So they really do bring a great addition to our orientations. And many teams, welcome them with open arms, and really include them in those orientations.

Martha F. 
Are orientations optional or mandatory for hosted students in the US?

Dona G.
We take orientations pretty seriously, partly because we are following the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel and the Department of State guidelines. But AFS international goes above and beyond what the actual guidelines are, because they understand how important these orientations and the materials we cover are to the students and to the host families. And just to make sure it's a great experience for everyone, and that everyone stays safe.

The teams each set their orientations, there are a few that are required. But some teams find that for instance, a Mid Year may be not required for their team. But if the team is calling in an orientation, the host family should do everything they can to make sure their student gets there and fully participates. Just so the year can go as smoothly as possible and that the student and the family can get the most out of the experience.

Martha F. 
Awesome. What are some of the activities that are done at an AFS orientation?

Dona G.   
There are all kinds of activities. It really depends on what type of orientation it is, and when it is throughout the year. So a lot of times the arrival orientation is the first one they're going to go to. And a lot of that is just talking to them about their safety, their expectations, and their goals.

But when you have orientations at Mid Year, a lot of what we're doing is helping them really develop their intercultural learning, and expand those opportunities to them. We will address some support issues and help them get through those problems they might be having. But a lot of it is just to make sure that instead of a 10 month vacation, we actually have them on a learning journey.
 
A lot of our orientations happen differently depending on the team. So as you heard a little while ago, some of our teams are able to have their orientations at a beach. I'm in Wisconsin, so we don't have as many beaches but we have lots of places to go snowshoeing in the winter. We have an orientation coming up that we will be at a big bonfire at a pumpkin patch. So a lot of it is a cultural experience, getting the students used to what is going on in their areas. So we have a lot of fun activities as well as intercultural learning mixed in.

There's also plenty of time there for the students to get to know each other to realize they are all on the same journey. Everybody's journey is different, but they're not on an island even though some of them may be at a school by themselves. We definitely give the students plenty of time to work with each other and get to know each other. And to get to know the volunteers even better.

Martha F. 
So in addition to being able to tackle problems that students may be facing, what other topics are discussed?

Dona G.
So we have this curriculum that we call the Student Learning Journey. And many people, myself included, really call this our students Superpowers. And like I said, orientations are not just about support, it's really to make sure that this is a developmental process for them. And so we go over things that are personal growth, understanding the world, co-creating with others, and taking action. So these students are going to go home and be prepared to start a project or want to do something that will improve their community, their country, or even the world. These students really go home energized and ready to be world leaders.

Kate M.
That was Dona Goede and Martha Friend from AFS-USA’s Orientation Advisory Group.
Now back to Dave Schrader in Los Angeles, and the orientations he helps lead for students.

Dave S. 
So we start off with nonverbal things, right? Handshakes, I grade them on the quality of their handshakes, as do the other volunteers.
We have a whole module on how to keep conversations going. So you do the journalism questions and who, what, when, where, why the most important one is why. So keep people talking. So that's a module that isn't in the normal AFS materials that we've contributed.

But we give them tips on how to make friends at school, mostly extracurricular activities. How to become a member of the family, not a guest in the home. The idea of chores, the idea of complying with curfews. Very important to build trust at the beginning. And then we give them horror stories of all the kids that we've sent home. So one of the advantages of being old is that I've seen it all.

Kate M.
So maybe you’re listening to this podcast as a recent AFS returnee… Does this sound like the kind of thing you’d want to help out with? You’ve had a transformative experience abroad, and there are opportunities to pay that forward volunteering with AFS students in the US.

Dave S. 
The payback is really high. You get to help students, and especially the foreign students, you get to use your experience to help the American kids get ready to go. And then you get to see them, if you stay connected. We're trying to do that. So the people that did your orientation before you left should be the people that are the Reconnect Orienters when you come back home. There's some continuity there. But if you do that, and you get to hear the stories from the kids that you prepared to go on, it's hugely rewarding.

Kate M. 
I bet. Well, thank you so much, Dave, for taking the time to chat with me about this.

Dave S.
Okay, bye bye.

Kate M. 
Have a good day. Bye.

Kate M.
That was Dave Schrader, a volunteer and an AFS returnee to Austria, living in Los Angeles. Are you interested in becoming a volunteer with AFS? If you’re in the US, head over to afsusa.org/volunteer to learn more.

[Music]

Kate M.
Well, thank you for listening to The AFS Exchange. I’m Kate Mulvihill. Remember, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of AFS, we will be releasing 4 episodes this month! That’s 4 times the stories of the impact AFS has had on the lives of its participants over the years. 

Let us know what you thought of this episode by sending a message to podcast@afsusa.org. You can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe there as well! Season 2 of The AFS Exchange will bring you conversations with hosted students, educators, host families, volunteers, and more. 

This podcast was created by Kate Mulvihill. Social media by Julie Ball. Editing support by Nina Gaulin. Thank you to our guest Dave Schrader, as well as Steve Smith, Dona Goede, Martha Friend, and Robin Weber.