5 Questions with an LC | 'I Just Have a Heart for These Kids'

Meet Sophie Grimes, a CIEE BridgeUSA local coordinator based in Portland, Oregon. She's also a stay-at-home mom. 

1. How did you first get involved with CIEE? 

Grimes: I first became a local coordinator when my kids were getting older. I was looking online and saw an ad for a local coordinator. It said they were looking for people who are good with teenagers. 

I thought, 'Well, I've got teenagers of my own. I get along with them and their friends.' 

I applied and got the job. And since then, I've overseen over 90 students and I've been doing this for about 9 years. 

2. What motivates you to support students and host families year after year? What makes you come back to CIEE? 

Grimes: What motivates me to continue working with CIEE is the students and host families. The people that I've gotten to meet are just incredible people.  

I feel like I'm a pretty empathetic person. I just have a heart for these kids. They come here knowing nobody. They're so brave to come here. They're 15, 16, 17 years old. 

And these host families that take them in are just amazing people. I love continuing those relationships even after the students go home and getting those repeat host families who just fell in love with hosting. They love this experience and love to give this opportunity to a teenager from around the world that they've never even met before. 

3. Can you share a memorable experience from your time as a local coordinator? 

Grimes: I had a student from Ukraine who came here when he was 16 years old. He stayed with my family when his host family was out of town. The war broke out when he was here and was unable to go home. 

He was able to continue on as an exchange student the following year, worked super hard, and got a scholarship to college. 

He came home last Christmas and spent Christmas with my family and his host family. And it was just an incredible situation to be able to spend that with him and see him also be able to go reunite with his family. 

It just brings such perspective. Like, I've got nothing to complain about.  This boy's gone through everything. And here he is, thriving in his situation. 

4. What does 'having a heart for these kids' look like in practice? 

Grimes: I remember a student from Denmark who was really struggling with his host family and just feeling homesick. He asked if he could get together with me. 

We went out for hot chocolate, and he just teared up. 'Thank you so much for spending this time with me. You're my mom away from home.' 

And it just really hit me hard. These kids, they don't know anybody when they come. They know their local coordinator and their host family. And it was just such an incredible experience to be able to go through this with him. 

5. What's one exchange experience your family will never forget? 

Grimes: The first time my family ever hosted, it was a girl from Latvia. We had never heard where Latvia was until we hosted her. We read her profile, and she just sounded like such a great fit for our family. She had a lot of the same interests that my kids did. 

Well, it was 2019, and a few months later, COVID hit, and sadly, she had to go home early. We were all devastated. Especially my 10-year-old son. He slept in her bed the first few nights. 

So we always had a jar going for spare change for Disneyland. Once we fill it, we go to Disneyland. And my son said, 'I don't want to go to Disneyland, I want to go to Latvia and go see Elizabeth.' 

So we turned it into a Latvia trip jar, filled it up, and a few years later, we got to go stay with her and her family. We went to her graduation, got to meet her parents, her grandparents and friends, and they treated us like celebrities there. Everybody was so excited to meet the Americans.  

It was such a wonderful experience. My family will never forget it.
 Interesting in becoming a local coordinator? Contact CIEE to learn more about becoming an LC.