Do you have room in your home to host an Iraqi student for a weekend in July? Show off the great state of Michigan and demonstrate some real American hospitality? If so, the Office of International Programs (OIP) wants to hear from you!

OIP is hosting 25 Iraqi college students in July for a special three-week academic program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad through the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) for Undergraduates. This is the third year WSU has been invited to participate in IYLEP.

What do you have to do? Be a great host! Involve the student in your homelife. Show them what being a Warrior/Michigander/American is all about! We're fun! We're open-minded! We like people from other countries! But don't confuse the welcome wagon with the red carpet -- being a host doesn't have to be extravagant. It has to be authentic.

Dates are July 19-21 and/or July 26-28. Ideally, host families will take their student(s) for both weekends, but we understand that may not be possible, and welcome participation for just one weekend.

A host family orientation will be offered to provide you with full details on the program, but here are the basics: You must be able to provide clean and appropriate living space for one or two students; complete the application and interview process; and pass a background check.

Hosts pick up their student(s) on campus on Friday afternoon and return them at 5 p.m. Sunday. You must plan activities for your student for the weekend, and provide three meals a day. You can camp. You can picnic. Go to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. Homestays are a key component of IYLEP and the emersion experience, and some of the most fun a student can have while in the program.

An application and more details are online. If you have questions or need encouragement, contact Fareed Shalhout, associate director of OIP and IYLEP organizer, at fareed.shalhout@wayne.edu or 313-577-9054.

The Office of International Programs leads Wayne State's global engagement by creating opportunities that foster international education and research, facilitate the exchange of individuals and ideas that promote global competencies and citizenship, and provide resources that support the expansion of the university's global agenda. Follow us @WayneOIP.