Celebrate holiday traditions with Host-a-Boiler

Volunteer hosts — Purdue faculty and staff, domestic students with families, and others living in the Greater Lafayette area — are encouraged to sign up by Nov. 14 to host an international student over Thanksgiving break.

Purdue University is home to around 10,000 international students. During the holiday season, many of those students are unable to travel home. The Host-a-Boiler program was created over 10 years ago to provide a family experience for international students by pairing them with volunteer hosts.

Participants can sign up by Nov. 14 for a one-time get-together (meal or activity) during the Purdue Thanksgiving break. This is not an overnight stay.

Host-a-Boiler is an opportunity to celebrate holiday traditions with some new friends from different backgrounds. Each year around 200 students sign up for the Thanksgiving Host-a-Boiler program, and volunteer hosts are needed to match all these interested students. If you would like to invite an international student into your home over the upcoming Thanksgiving break, please sign up and select the “Thanksgiving Host-a-Boiler 2025” program to provide your information and match preferences.

To learn more about the program, click here or email the coordinator, Leah Bechtold, at friendship@purdue.edu.