Our Approach
Where We Are Located
American Discovery is based in Bend, Oregon. Bend is known for its unique, exciting mix of arts, culture, education, scenic beauty, and passion for recreation. Beautifully nestled in the Cascade mountains, Bend is centrally located, with stunning nature, a thriving tech sector, snow-capped mountains, and the sprawling city of Portland not far away.
Our Story
While many organizations concentrated on bringing huge groups to large metropolitan areas, the goal of American Discovery was to focus on bringing intimate groups to come visit smaller communities and stay for just two to three weeks during the summer. What has set American Discovery apart from other organizations—and continues to this day—is its family-oriented approach that focuses on the personal experience of each family and each student.
American Discovery was founded in 1992 by Bruno Francia, who came here to Eugene from Lyon, France as an exchange student and found a passion for bringing students to the US to experience the wonder of cultural exchange. Since then, after many years of hard work, Bruno has retired and Ashley Sorci and Stephen Franckowiak are excited to continue the legacy and vision of American Discovery.
Today, we continue to do what we set out to do more than thirty years ago: encourage a real exchange between people and cultures, create long-lasting friendships, and promote foreign languages.
Home Stay Programs
We offer programs 
in Oregon, Washington, California, and Colorado. Over the past 28 years, we have placed thousands of students with American families. Our organization welcomes students and adults who are interested in spending several weeks in the United States to experience an American way of life. In fact, we have several programs to choose from.
Some programs include day trips, overnight trips, and English-language classes. Other programs are "total immersion," which means more quality time with the host family replaces trips or activities. Another program we added several years ago as part of the homestay experience, is the opportunity to take a week-long camping tour of the California Coast. The students travel for a week and get to visit many great California locations such as the wonderful city of San Francisco, beautiful Malibu Beach, and Los Angeles. Afterward, the students return to their host families for the remainder of the homestay.
Where Do the Students Come From?
Our French students come from all regions of France. A large percentage of the French students are sponsored by French companies. This helps parents with the cost of the trip.
Our Spanish students mainly reside in Madrid or the cities and villages surrounding Madrid. A few also come from Seville, Barcelona, and even the Basque region of Spain. No matter which country the students come from, however, they are all eager to spend time with your family and make the true American Discovery.
How We Operate
It takes a lot of planning and organization to operate an international student exchange program. Our main office is located in Bend, but we have coordinators managing programs in Oregon, California, Colorado, and Washington. Our office works directly with each coordinator, and it is these amazing people who are responsible for planning and supervising each program — which also includes locating wonderful host families!
Each coordinator receives student profiles from our Bend office. A profile includes the student’s interests, pictures of the student with family and friends, and a short letter written in English. The letter is a delight to read because it explains, in the student's own words, why he/she is interested in coming for a homestay in America.
Each group of students is accompanied by a group leader who also stays in the community with a host family. The group leader is available to help supervise the students during trips and can assist students or families during the program. These group leaders are usually young, dynamic adults, and many are English teachers. In fact, they also come to America to improve their English-speaking skills!
What Kind of Students Choose a Homestay Program?
Students who want to practice speaking English with native English speakers.
Students who want to live the real life of an American family.
Students who want to meet an American family and create a lasting friendship.
Meet the Directors
Ashley Sorci
Program Director
Stephen Franckowiak
Operations Manager
Both Ashley and Stephen have always had a passion for bringing different cultures together. While traveling, living, and working abroad, they fell in love with the exploration of the world.
Ashley began her work with American Discovery after living and studying in Bordeaux, France and becoming impassioned about bringing people from different cultures closer together. She believes that the key to global compassion is the understanding that we are more alike than different. American Discovery helps bring people together and fosters a deep cultural understanding and exchange that can’t be found by simply vacationing someplace!
Stephen has been passionate about international relations from the beginning. Encouraged by parents who have both lived abroad, he took French classes in high school and college, and has been involved in one way or another in cultural exchange through the years. His motivation is the belief that the more we learn from each other, the better we can improve our local communities, and in turn, the world as a whole!
Next Steps...
Would you like to find out more about exploring different cultures and bringing people together?