8,670 miles from Islamabad, the city she calls home, or a 14-hour flight, junior foreign exchange student Zaineb Iftikhar explores American life through the eyes of a Rockville resident. As a member of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, Iftikhar is just one of 47 students part of the YES ‘23 (2025-2026) program from nearly 10,000 applicants from her home country in Pakistan.
The YES program is a U.S.-sponsored exchange program for students in countries with significant Muslim populations. Established in 2002 by Congress, the YES program allows their “youth ambassadors” to live in America, attend American high schools and learn about American culture while simultaneously helping Americans to learn about their culture for one academic year.
Initially, Iftikhar said that this program wasn’t even on her radar until her sister saw an ad for it on social media. Upon applying, Iftikhar went through nearly a year-long process, which consisted of multiple stages of a merit-based selection process. Despite the rigorous and low acceptance rate of the program, Iftikhar stood out as an applicant. “I think they wanted good communication skills. I had those. And then there were essays, and I think I’m good at creative writing and all,” Iftikhar said.
Once accepted into the YES program, the next struggle Iftikhar faced was getting approval for her Visa, a document that gives permission for Iftikhar to travel and study in America for the duration of her exchange year. “We had to submit a very long application for a Visa and I was super scared because like the U.S. policies related to Visas got super strict this past year,” Iftikhar said.
However, Iftikhar was approved for her Visa in May and due to the fear that it could get rejected, “It was like such a big milestone, like a checkbox for me like ‘oh my gosh my Visa is accepted.’ Now I can pack!” Iftikhar said.
The YES program works to provide scholarships for the foreign exchange students to participate in the exchange program, however the YES program then refers the participants to placement organizations to find a host family for each student. In this process, Iftikhar was placed with the AFS Intercultural Programs where she was matched with a host family based on aligning interests.
With her travel plans in place, Iftikhar boarded her plane with the sole suitcase and single checked bag permitted. Inside she carried “things that remind [her] of Pakistan” like the Pakistani flag, cultural clothes for International Education week next week, and “some cooking mixes because I knew I would miss the food a lot,” Iftikhar said.
Moving halfway around the world also meant leaving her family and friends back in Islamabad. AFS provides opportunities for exchange students in the DMV area to learn about American society, and, when “I’m involved in some kind of activity, I don’t really think about it much, but when I’m alone and I do have time to overthink…I try not to overthink, but it’s kind of sad,” though “if I still had a choice, I would still come, because it’s fun,” Iftikhar said.
As part of the program’s goal, Iftikhar has explored and participated in American culture through AFS events. From Halloween parties to scavenger hunts in museums in D.C., Iftikhar has been exposed to the realities of American society. From social media influencers Iftikhar had previously been aware of stereotypes about American life including cheerleading, loud, spirited football games and “another thing I saw was the portion sizes in restaurants. They’re huge,” Iftikhar said.
Beyond the social aspect, adjusting to life as an American student at the school, Iftikhar noticed differences in the dynamic between students and teachers. Iftikhar said that on the whole teachers in the school are much friendlier than her teachers back home in Islamabad. In her school, Iftikhar describes a level of respect that is maintained for the teachers. For example, students would never talk above the teacher’s tone and “you would never see teachers saying words like ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’,” Iftikhar said.
When returning back home to Islamabad, Iftikhar wants to implement the class dynamic into her school. “I love the classroom environment. I want to introduce it to the place I go and I hope they accept it,” Iftikhar said.
