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AFS-USA alumni at the recent Chicago alumni event
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Once an AFSer, Always an AFSer: Chicago Alumni Event
As part of AFS-USA's growing investment in our alumni community, we held the first in a series of Alumni Meet-ups in late 2025. Over 60 AFS-USA alumni gathered in Chicago for a special evening of connection, memories, and community. The event brought together alumni across generations to share stories, rediscover friendships, and celebrate the lasting impact of their exchange experiences.
Special thanks go out to the Chicago Area Team volunteers, members of the Board, and staff who joined and helped make the evening a success. The Alumni Relations team looks forward to hosting more regional alumni gatherings in the year ahead to continue strengthening connections within the AFS-USA community.
Stay tuned for more dates and locations of our Alumni Meet-Up series this year.
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Growing Community Through Alumni Engagement
We’re excited to introduce AFS-USA Unpacked, our new quarterly alumni newsletter! This space is designed to bring you closer to the AFS-USA community through alumni updates, opportunities, and stories.
The launch of Unpacked is part of a larger effort to strengthen engagement across our AFS-USA alumni network of more than 125,000. With a dedicated Alumni Relations team established in 2025, we’re building new pathways for connection, celebrating the impact of our alumni, and expanding opportunities to stay involved. We’re excited to continue building it with you.
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| Welcome to the Newest AFS-USA Alumni! |
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This February, we hosted a Welcome Home Webinar for our newly returned Class of 2025 study abroad participants as they transitioned to AFS-USA Alumni. The program provided space to celebrate their achievements, connect with peers, and navigate the reentry phase of their AFS journey while learning how to stay engaged with AFS-USA.
This is an ongoing series that was launched in July 2025 and is hosted twice a year to align with the various AFS program cycles. Welcome back to our 47 newest AFS-USA alumni who completed their programs in 11 different countries and four continents.
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| Highlights from the Alumni Survey |
AFS-USA Alumni Respondents' Current Locations
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In spring 2025, we launched an alumni survey that drew responses from more than 700 alumni. Thank you to everyone who participated! As a token of appreciation, 50 lucky participants received an AFS-USA Alumni t-shirt.
The survey helped us learn more about what our alumni are doing now, the lasting impact of their AFS experiences, and how they’d like to stay connected with AFS-USA in the future. It’s not too late to participate in the survey.
If you haven’t already, complete the survey here!
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Agree or strongly agree that AFS has helped them better connect with people from different backgrounds.
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Reported that AFS has contributed to my global awareness & intercultural competence.
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Agree or strongly agree that AFS has increased their openness to ideas and opinions that are different from my own.
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Consider themselves as an Active Global Citizen.
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| Meet Your Alumni Relations Team |
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Jen joined AFS-USA in August 2025, drawing on her background in experiential education to foster meaningful, lasting alumni connections. Her journey began with a formative month-long wilderness expedition in Alaska during college and has since driven her work in youth programming, nonprofit marketing, and alumni engagement. She believes in the power of stepping outside your comfort zone and building communities that support lifelong learning and a global perspective.
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Candace helps grow scholarship opportunities and share the organization’s mission and impact with alumni, donors, and partners. Since joining AFS-USA in 2011, she has held roles across Participant Support & Learning, Organizational Development, and Field Operations, giving her a broad perspective on the AFS community. Candace studied abroad in South Africa during college and completed graduate fieldwork in Tanzania, experiences that deepened her passion for international exchange and its lifelong impact on participants.
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| Once an AFSer, Always an AFSer |
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Your AFS-USA Community
AFS-USA is more than a moment—it’s a community. Follow us on social and join our alumni groups on LinkedIn or Facebook to see what fellow alumni are doing and stay in the loop.
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Events & Opportunities
Join fellow AFS-USA alumni through in-person and virtual events, learning opportunities, and ways to stay involved—wherever you are. See a full list on our Alumni webpage.
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Copyright © 2026, AFS-USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
AFS-USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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