Our History

1980

Pacific American International Student Services (PAISS) founded in San Francisco by John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokota. Offices are located in the "Icehouse", a renovated warehouse near the Embarcadero in San Francisco. First programs are established between the Western States and Europe.

1983

AYUSA receives a grant from the USIA to expand exchanges with the Intermountain States. Name changes to AYUSA (an acronym for Academic Year in the U.S.A.).

1984

AYUSA becomes a founding member of the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel and Exchange Programs. AYUSA is first approved for listing by CSIET, and has continuously listed each year since.

1985

AYUSA receives a grant from USIA to open a Regional Center in Tokyo. Asian programs begin.

1988

AYUSA launches Study Abroad programs for American students to travel to Japan and Western Europe.

1989

AYUSA Central and Eastern Europe Regional Center (AICEE) opens in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

1990

AYUSA opens a Western European Regional Center in Stuttgart.

1993

AYUSA selected by USIA to operate the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) with Germany.

1994

AYUSA selected by USIA to operate Freedom Support Act Future Leaders Exchange (FSA/FLEX) with the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the Soviet Union.

1996

AYUSA moves Western European Regional Center to Berlin.

1997

AYUSA selected as the international youth exchange provider to Kiwanis International and Key Club International service clubs worldwide. AYUSA Andean Regional Center opens in Quito, Ecuador.

1999

U.S. Information Agency incorporated into the U.S. Department of State. AYUSA programs operate under the auspices of Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

2000

Twenty-year total: AYUSA exceeds $13,000,000 in U.S. grant scholarships, awarded to over 3000 participants. AYUSA selected by the U.S. Department of State to operate The Serbian Youth Leadership Program.

2001

AYUSA Southern Africa Regional Center opens in Johannesburg, South Africa. AYUSA selected by the U.S. Department of State to operate the Brcko District Academic Semester Program serving the United Nations administered district of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

2003

AYUSA was awarded a major grant from the U.S. Department of State to administer an academic year program for students from predominantly Islamic countries. This initiative was a result of Congressional discussions following the events of September 11, 2001, to build bridges of understanding between the United States and countries with significant Muslim populations. In August 2003, the first YES participants embarked on an unprecedented exchange program. Currently, YES students reside in 56 host communities across the U.S.

2004

AYUSA International becomes Intrax Cultural Exchange to reflect its new unified approach toward its program offerings. Each of Intrax’ divisions continues to operate independently with Intrax’ overarching mission of increasing global understanding through cultural exchange programs.

2005

AYUSA receives a grant to run a special Japan Youth Scholarship (JYS) program where American high school students live and study in Japan for a two year period.

2007

With generous funding from the U.S. Department of State, AYUSA awards eight full scholarships to Seattle public school students for a four-week exchange in Rabat, Morocco. Recipients of the prestigious Linking Individuals, Knowledge and Culture (LINC) scholarship live with host families and participate in community service projects.

2009

AYUSA is selected to pilot a new U.S. Department of State grant, YES Outbound, sending select U.S. students to Mali, Oman, and Morocco for the fall academic semester 2009. Recipients of this scholarship live with a host family, attend a local school and undergo intensive French and Arabic lessons. Visit www.yesgrantprograms.org to learn more about this program.

AYUSA is awarded a Department of State grant, Emerging Youth Leaders Program, an innovative program, consisting of a two-way exchange involving 30 high school students from the U.S. and Senegal. The program focuses on the theme of “Democracy and Governance in Civil Society,” with an emphasis on social justice and tools for political/social change.