Program manager builds international bonds, changes perceptions

  • Published
  • By Shannon Carabajal
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Kay Grosinske loves meeting people. She especially loves meeting people from other countries and showing them that Americans love life, enjoy trying new things, like meeting people and are friendly and kind. Just like them.

Nowhere is this love more evident than in the Air Force Civil Engineer Center program manager's commitment to the Defense Language Institute English Language Center's AMIGO program at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Meaning friend in Spanish, AMIGO also stands for the American Members of International Goodwill to Others Sponsorship Program.
With an overall objective of making international students feel welcome in the San Antonio community while undergoing training at the DLIELC, the program has benefitted greatly from Grosinske's commitment over the past nine years.

"Kay has been a pivotal part of the program. Her efforts in making friends with the students and helping them improve their language skills has had a positive impact on all the students she sponsors. (She goes) above and beyond in assisting students and their families and is often considered an extended family member. She truly is a partner to DLI in building bridges between America and these allied countries," said Dee Hollie, AMIGO program manager.

Grosinske became an AMIGO in January 2004, partly because she missed Europe where she lived for eight years before joining the AFCEC family.

"I was used to being in an international atmosphere and I really missed getting to know people from all over the world," she said.

Since then, she has sponsored hundreds of students from 53 different countries including Kazakhstan, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Afghanistan, Armenia, France, Albania and Iraq. She helps the international students learn about life in America and enjoy their time in San Antonio with tours, concerts, visits to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and simple home-cooked meals.

"There are so many things for them to do here; they just don't know what they are," she said.

The connections Grosinske has made through the AMIGO program have also given her opportunities to travel. From swimming in the Dead Sea and piloting an airplane over the farm fields of Toulouse, France, to visiting historical sites in the Middle East, she has fulfilled many life-long dreams. But it is the friendships that have made the biggest impact on her.

"I have been blessed beyond measure. I enjoy being with the families so much," she said.

Not wanting to limit herself to only military students, Grosinske is also involved with the San Antonio Council for International Visitors, an organization that connects the local community with leaders from all around the world.

Either through taking individuals to dinner or groups on a half-day tour of the city, Grosinske is helping the city foster cross-cultural understanding and give international visitors first-hand experience with average Americans.

"It's been an amazing experience for me," she said.

Thinking back over the past decade, one AMIGO dinner party stands out for Grosinske as an example of how her volunteer efforts are making a difference and changing perceptions.

"I noticed an Israeli F-15 pilot, an Egyptian F-16 pilot and a Polish MiG-21 pilot talking to each other and (simulating) flying through the air with their hands, like pilots do. Later, during dinner, the Egyptian said, 'if I had my president's email address, I'd send him a photo of this moment to show him that we can all get along.' Then the Israeli said, 'if I had my president's email address, I'd do the same.'

When Grosinske took the Egyptian student back to the base that evening, he told her it was the first time he had ever met an Israeli. She later learned that it was also the first time the Israeli student had ever met an Egyptian. She believes moments like those can change the world.

"It is amazing how countries just hate each other so much, but when people get to know people, they realize we're all the same," she said.