Lindsey Wilson University International Students Connect with Region through Host Families
Nearly four dozen area families provide a home away from home for university's international students.
COLUMBIA, Ky. (09/14/2026) — For Columbia resident Glen Hunt, being a host family for Lindsey Wilson University international students has broadened his linguistic skills.
Hunt is one of nearly four dozen families in the region who serve as host families to Lindsey Wilson's international undergraduate population. On Friday, Sept. 11, some of the host families and LWU international students gathered at a meet-and-greet at the university's International Student Program House.
Lindsey Wilson has 196 international undergraduate students from 51 countries this school year on the A.P. White Campus. Host families play an important role in many of those students' lives.
While students live in university housing, host families agree to meet with them a couple times a semester to make sure they are adjusting to life in a new country. Host families often invite the students to celebrate holidays and other special days in their homes. International students are also introduced to American culture through a myriad of activities and events coordinated by the Lindsey Wilson International Student Programs.
Hunt and his wife, Kathy, have served as a host family for eight years, usually to six to eight students.
"We were approached years ago," he said. "We started it, and we found it to be a blast."
Over the years, the Hunts have hosted students from Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam. Recently, they have hosted more students from Spanish-speaking countries, which prompted Glen to learn a little Spanish so that he could also communicate with the students in their native language.
"I use a little bit of Spanish with them, but not too much," he said. "We just enjoy being around them and hearing them laugh. They laugh in Spanish, and I still laugh."
And thanks to the worldwide web, the Hunts also communicate with students' families back in their native countries.
"It's just a blast," said Glen Hunt. "Last year I visited with a couple of the parents on Facebook and it was fun to get to know them."
Several of the Hunts' host students are members of the Blue Raider tennis program, which has turned the Hunts into two of the program's more ardent fans, following the team all the way to the NAIA national tournaments.
Lindsey Wilson staff member Makayla Wright '24, who oversees the host family program, said that the generosity of the Columbia-Adair County families who annually participate in the program makes a big difference in students' lives.
"I think it also gives our students a good taste of what Columbia is," said Wright, who is LWU International Student Adviser Communications & Global Student Support Coordinator and
Designated School Official. "It educates our students in what we think are everyday ways that are very unique to them."
Columbia resident Meg Dixon is in her third year as a host family. She also decided to learn how to speak Spanish after hosting students from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain.
"It's great fun, and it's really wonderful to meet the students," she said. "We just like to support them in any way. They are always super appreciative of everything we do for them."
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
Media Attachments
Columbia resident Glen Hunt talks to Lindsey Wilson University student Mariangeles Ortega Mateu '27 of Valencia, Spain, on Friday, Sept. 11, at a meet-and-greet for international student host families, held at the university's International Student Program House.
Columbia resident Meg Dixon, center, is joined by Lindsey Wilson University students Mariangeles Ortega Mateu '27 of Valencia, Spain, left, and Javiera Verdugo '29 of Paine, Chile, on Friday, Sept. 11, at a meet-and-greet for international student host families, held at the university's International Student Program House.