The high school student exchange program, which is the
heart and soul of the success of the TSC organization, is
almost as old as the organization itself. When the sister
city idea was conceived, Tempe began looking for a program
that would give it's young adults an opportunity to
experience and understand other cultures and ways of life.
The path chosen was the high school student exchange.
A year after Tempe had established its Sister City
relationship with Skopje, Yugoslavia (now The Republic of
Macedonia), the first group of student delegates from Tempe
went to Skopje for a five week home hosted stay. Upon their
return, the Tempe students hosted their "brothers and
sisters" from Skopje for five weeks and the student
exchange was born!
The Tempe Sister City program now has high school student
exchange programs with cities in Germany, New Zealand,
China, France and Ireland. The student exchange program
offers high school students who are juniors in their class
and reside in the city of Tempe, an opportunity to develop
an understanding of different countries, their cultures and
people. The high school delegates are chosen by a committee
through a selection process which includes a group
interview, a series of individual interviews and informal
gatherings with both the students and their parents. Every
year the selection committee faces a difficult job
selecting the best of the best, a group of wonderful young
people, proud ambassadors of their city and their country.