HOMESTAY & EXCHANGE PROGRAM:
A World of Difference, Right Here in Blue Hill
Interested in hosting a student?
Read bios of current available students here.
For decades, George Stevens Academy has brought the world to the Blue Hill Peninsula—and sent peninsula students out into it. Our international and exchange program isn't an add-on. It's part of what makes a GSA education feel bigger than its zip code.
Whether you're a student dreaming of a year in coastal Maine, or a local family curious about opening your home, here's where to start.
Working with Trusted Exchange Organizations like AFS-USA
GSA welcomes international students through several established cultural exchange programs, so families and host families can find the path that fits them best. Each partner organization brings its own vetting, visa support, and family-support network, while GSA provides the school home: the classes, the teachers, the teams, and the everyday belonging.
Among the organizations whose students we welcome is AFS-USA, one of the country's oldest and most respected exchange networks, placing students from 80+ countries in American high schools each year.
However a student arrives, the GSA part is the same: a small school where new faces don't disappear into a crowd.
Juno Holbe ‘27, Germany, and her host dad, Dave Carner at a GSA Family Dinner. Juno was an AFS student for the 26/27 school year.
For International & Exchange Students
Study where the classroom doesn't stop at the door.
GSA welcomes students from several countries each year for both full-year academic study and shorter exchange terms. You'll take real courses alongside Maine students, live with a local host family, and trade the abstraction of "studying abroad" for the specifics of small-town life—playing basketball and/or sailing, working at a local boat yard, learning with teachers who know your name, and exploring the outdoors.
What you can expect:
Academics that travel. A full college-preparatory curriculum, with AP/advanced courses and support for students learning in English.
A real home, not a dorm. Most international students live with vetted local host families, sharing meals, routines, and the everyday rhythms that turn a visit into a year you remember.
A place small enough to belong to. With approximately 200 students, GSA is a school where new faces don't disappear into a crowd. You are a member of a school family.
Start your application now by emailing us at admissions@georgestevens.org.
For Host Families
You don't have to travel the world to welcome it home.
Hosting an international student is one of the quietest, most rewarding things a peninsula family can do—and you don't need a guest wing or a passport full of stamps to do it well. You need a spare bed, a seat at the table, and a willingness to share ordinary life.
Families tell us the same thing afterward: they signed up to give a student a home, and got a new family member in return. These relationships last for the rest of our lives.
What hosting involves:
A private bedroom and a spot at family meals.
Everyday inclusion—errands, weekends, the occasional school pickup. You're not running a hotel; you're sharing a household.
Full support from GSA. A local coordinator handles the logistics, checks in regularly, and is on-call if anything comes up. You're never doing this alone.
Hosting is volunteer-based.
Curious whether it's a fit? Most families are surprised how quickly it becomes one
Learn about hosting by talking to our coordinator at admissions@georgestevens.org.
In a host parent’s words:
“We have now hosted three AFS students, two from Turkey and one from Italy. The experience with all three has made our lives so much richer, more interesting and enjoyable. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this experience!
These students are selected for being academically strong, socially open, inquisitive and looking for new experiences and adventures. They bring their excitement and interests here and share it with all of us, individually and the community at large, making us all the better for it. They have broadened our contacts in the community, introducing us to other students and families we likely would not have met otherwise. They reconnected us to GSA after three years since our youngest graduated. They have had me watching (and enjoying!) televised sports for the first time ever. It's been a pleasure to watch them grow up, mature as individuals, become fluent and completely comfortable working, living and playing in English and being an active part of GSA and Blue Hill.
I (and all our friends and neighbors) will miss these wonderful young men when they return home but there are already plans being made by neighbors to visit them and their families. We have stayed in contact with our first AFS student from ten years ago (who is now working for Google in San Francisco) and will keep in touch in touch with this year's students as well.
Hosting AFS students is a win-win for everyone involved and should not be passed up by anyone.”
Clifton Page, East Blue Hill
“I like the community style of the school because everyone knows everyone in school, and you can just say hi to everyone. Everyone's kind, and it’s a really good environment.
GSA gives you a lot of different opportunities- whichever is your interest, you can learn about it because there's music to sports, there's activities of very kind.”
Lorenzo Argentati ‘27, Italy
Anna Dovhanych ‘26, Ukraine
“Anya arrived from Ukraine with gifts for us all. After a long flight, which included leaving Ukraine for Prague to get to the US, due to the war started by Putin, she arrived at Bangor Airport at midnight. I picked her up and she was exhausted. The next evening she shared her gifts with us which were tradition Ukrainian crafts and jewelry. Her English was pretty good and got better so quickly—within a month she knew not only the language, but the slang, the jokes and how to write about the readings she was doing her her AP lit class. Anya is a dedicated student and worked very hard to get good grades and get the most out her stay here. At home she was very helpful and easy going, enjoyed cooking and we ate together often for dinner and breakfast. She loves our dog Emmy and happily took her out for exercise regularly. She also became close with my mother who lives next door.
We miss Anya! It was a great experience having her in our home. It taught our own kids about a different culture and part of the world and how brave she is to travel so far from home. Our daughter June encouraged Anya to do Steel Band with Mr. Conte and Anya did, loved it and stayed with it through her senior year. All and all I recommend anyone that can host should. It’s an eye opening experience and a gift to the family, school and our community.”
Jenny Brillhart, Host Mother to Anna ‘26, Ukraine