Inside the AFS Engine Room

Welcome back for Season 6! We are spending the first few episodes of this season highlighting the people who keep the AFS engine running: our incredible volunteers. In this premiere episode, we’re heading to Spain to follow two AFS-USA volunteers who attended the 2025 International Volunteer Summit in Málaga, Spain. We’ll hear about their unique backgrounds, the challenges of leading teams in the US, and how stepping out of their "local silos" to meet global counterparts changed their perspective on our mission. Why listen if you aren't a volunteer? Because these stories are a masterclass in human connection. It’s about what happens when people caught up in the daily grind of a local mission look up and realize they are part of a global movement. It’s a reminder that no matter where we are, we are all working toward the same common goal. Meet the Guests: Abdullah: Originally from Jordan, his first experience with AFS was as an exchange student placed in Kansas City in the mid 2010s. Now an active volunteer, he’s held leadership roles in Minneapolis and is currently helping drive the mission in Orange County, California. Ashe: Representing a 50-year AFS family legacy in Iowa, Ashe is a "legacy volunteer" who wears many hats- from School Outreach to hosting her second exchange student this year. In this episode, we explore: The "Engine Room" of AFS and the people behind the student experience. The struggle of operating in a "volunteer silo" and the cure for burnout. The impact of the first-ever Chapter Leadership Summit in Spain. How sharing ideas across borders reinvigorates local teams. More from AFS-USA: 🏠 Host a Student | ✈️ Study Abroad | 🤝 Volunteer | 🏫 For Educators | 📧 Contact the Show | 🎧 Collections

You can listen to Inside the AFS Engine Room online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Inside the AFS Engine Room is an episode from The AFS Exchange by AFS-USA.

This episode is 38:23 long.

This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

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