InterExchange staff volunteering at God’s Love We Deliver, packing meals for New Yorkers in need, alongside J-1 participant Aleksandar from North Macedonia (far right). Volunteering is deeply rooted in American civic life, reflecting a belief that individuals can, and should, actively shape and improve their local communities.
The first thing you notice about Aleksandar is his giant smile.
A native of a suburb in North Macedonia, this is his third summer on the Summer Work Travel (SWT) program, sponsored by InterExchange. I became aware of Aleksandar, who is one of the SWT Exchange Visitors we sponsor each year, when he volunteered for our annual day of service, an initiative of the Alliance for International Exchange. Curious about this young man, I inquired about his placement location. It was on the Jersey Shore. I mapped how long it would take him to get to lower Manhattan from there using public transit, and the trip was 5 hours each way!
I wanted to learn more about him and his motivation for service so I Facetimed him to find out. The answer was pretty simple and straightforward. He says organized volunteering is uncommon in North Macedonia, unlike in the U.S., and he loves that he was given the opportunity to give back with InterExchange. He also just loves New York City! In particular, he loves American movies, specifically The Devil’s Advocate. He shared, “I am thankful for the fact that I was given the opportunity, through InterExchange, to give back in some way to the community of the city I love.”
When he completes his work commitment, he plans to join the Summer Work Travel team at InterExchange for another day of volunteering in October, and once he’s back in North Macedonia, he mentioned continuing to seek out opportunities to volunteer. He shared how much he admires the community-driven spirit of the U.S., the way people show up for local events and for each other.
For Aleksandar, the Summer Work Travel experience goes beyond the paycheck. He understands the deeper meaning behind these programs:
“It teaches us how to accept different people from different cultures, from different religions, from different backgrounds more easily. I made friends with people from Morocco, from Jamaica, from Mexico, from the Dominican Republic, from everywhere, you know alongside American colleagues and American friends, obviously.”
He sees the bigger picture too as to why programs like this matter, not just for the participants, but for the countries on both sides of the exchange:
“This program is really important for the United States as well, but also for the countries that participate in this program, because it allows people from different nations, from different cultures to come to the United States and to see what America is really all about, to see their people.”
Back home, he’s working on a Masters in Security Administration and dreams of working in his country’s foreign affairs office, or at a think tank. But for now, he’s having a classic American summer, bussing tables on the Jersey Shore.
Aleksandar didn’t have to make that 4 AM trip, but his kind act of selflessness inspired all of us at InterExchange to keep finding incredible candidates for our programs and to provide them with opportunities to learn about what makes Americans so special.
