Ann Joy is the ultimate host mom. From her first experience as a host for international students to now, she has given her students a welcome and encouraging environment.

Anne started hosting in June 2012. A friend suggested that Ann and her son, Samuel Joy, should be a host family for students attending Pierce, since their living space had extra bedrooms. Ann pursued this idea and was soon approved to be a host.

Ann was told by the International Housing Coordinator at the time, that only one student would be assigned to her home during her first quarter as a host mom until she felt more comfortable with the process.

Ann’s first student was Mingie Zhang from China. He settled into the home well and Ann helped him adapt to the culture and the language.

Soon Mingie brought a Japanese friend that he had just met that morning, Sho, home to dinner. Sho was planning to move into an apartment with another international student, but plans fell through and he found himself without a home.  So Ann went to the International House to see if Sho could move in and she became a new host mom with two students under her roof.

In the following Fall quarter, one of Sho’s friends, Koske, was informed that he would soon have to leave the place that he was living in, as his host father had to stop being a host while he was taking care of a family issue. Koske asked if he could move in, and with some switching of some rooms, he soon joined the Joy house.

“So we’re all doing well and  there’s lots of activity in the house and a lot of good camaraderie,” Ann said as she recalled having three host students in the house just six months after agreeing to be a host mom.

As Ann’s lease was about to run out, she and the students were on the house hunt. They found a house that is located just outside of the Ft. Steilacoom campus, which made attending classes easier for all of the students.

“Word got around quickly that I was right next to the Pierce college, and students didn’t have to walk very far,” Ann recalled. “They usually came knocking on my door, [asking], ‘Can I live at your house?’”

Ann has hosted over 10 students since she started back in 2012. Ann recounted many experiences with her host students from loud parties and broken furniture to moments of great learning and understanding. As a host mom, Ann provides food and a place to stay, but she often goes beyond the base criterion to support her students. She often offers rides, prepares dishes that acclimate her students to American food and culture, assists in school work, and she’s even been known to sleep on the couch to ensure everyone has a place to sleep comfortably.

“I love to encourage students and I love to help them with what they don’t understand. I’m a very nurturing person… [The Host Family program] tells you that you’re not supposed to treat them like your son or daughter. I don’t necessarily treat them like a son or a daughter, but I can’t help but be very nurturing to them… I want them to know that they have a family and a home.”

This quarter, Ann is the host to one student, Daniel from Indonesia. He has been living with Ann since he came to America about seven months ago.

“She helped me a lot,” said Daniel. “She helped me to speak [English] like this now, because I need to speak English every day.”

“I think it’s rewarding when you sit down and explain the changes in their English paper, and to have [the students] come in the next day and  say ‘Look, look at my school work!’ And they were so proud that they had gotten a better score on their paper and they say, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you, Ann. You really helped me.’ And I said, ‘No, you can do it on your own too’, but that’s very rewarding to me. To know that I can offer help and that it turned out to be a win-win situation for them,” said Ann.

Ann hopes that her host students can “say that they had a great experience in America and especially the host program at Pierce College.”

“I want them to encourage other students in their area to come to Pierce college, to want to go through the program and be part of the homestay family. And I like to stay in contact with them just so I can see the new developments in their lives,” said Ann

International students are always needing host families. For more information on becoming a host family, contact George Scheffe, the International Housing Coordinator, at (253) 964-6593 or email at [email protected].