Ming - our first international student! - enjoying a Chinese restaurant with Kathryn, Armando, and Farooq from Pakistan 

​Host-A-Scholar officially began in 2018; the idea, however, started decades earlier.

In 1990, Kathryn first became aware of international students coming to the United States.  Life turned in other directions, and it wasn't until 2008 that she and her family were able to host an international student themselves -- Ming, a high school student from China.   Since that time, the Nelsons have hosted many more international guests from over 20 countries. 

In 2016, two Pakistani scholars came to the US for conferences and needed short-term housing.  They were pleased to be able to stay with us, in an American home, and see what "real life" in the US is like.  

In 2017, Kathryn and Nic got to know many Fulbright Scholars studying at the University of Southern California (USC) and other Fulbrighters around the country.  They traveled throughout the US as much as their time and budget allowed.  Kathryn and Nic were able to host some of them. Kathryn was struck by how glad they were to be able to get to know an American family.  Our warm welcome surprised them; we tore down many negative stereotypes of Americans as indifferent or hostile.  

As our international friends continued to travel around the US, they asked if we knew other Americans who were willing to host international students.  And the idea of Host-A-Scholar was born.   

There are approximately 1,000,000 international students in the US each year. Sadly, 75-80% of them never enter an American home.  That means that 750,000-800,000 students are here in our country, open to learning about our country, hoping to be welcomed and embraced, and not getting that opportunity. 

While Nic and Kathryn continue to welcome as many international students as possible, they are only one family.  Host-A-Scholar is a network of like-minded local hosts, who warmly welcome international students into their homes.  We are cultural ambassadors representing the best of our country, and we are eager to learn about the home countries of our guests.  

Our Team

Nic and Kathryn Nelson
​Founders