2025 International Awards: Larry Karnes

Larry Karnes is a 2025 recipient of the Homer Higbee International Education Award, which is presented to MSU students and volunteers who have made significant contributions to support global learning and intercultural awareness. 

Karnes, a geographer by vocation, has been the chair of the International Friendship Program, or IFP, for the last 12 years. He and his wife, the late Susan Karnes, hosted more than a dozen international students beginning in 2005. The rapport Larry and Susan developed with the students they hosted has served as a great example to volunteers interested in becoming hosts or more active with IFP. 

“My now 20 years of involvement with IFP has resulted in being matched with more than a dozen international students and becoming acquainted with many, many more. My wife and I had great experiences with all of the students, with many of them really becoming part of our family,” said Karnes. 

Larry’s contributions managing IFP are significant. He records which students have been matched to a volunteer, conducts interviews to facilitate matches and has the often-thankless task of tracking down volunteers who haven’t responded to email messages. 

Additionally, Larry’s involvement with the Volunteer English Teaching Program speaks to his commitment to intercultural learning, and the relationships he’s maintained over the years is evidence of his appreciation for the diverse experiences of his conversation partners. 

“I was always interested in other countries and cultures, and I had pen pals during high school and college,” Karnes said. 

“I am extremely grateful to receive the Homer Higbee Award and consider it the greatest honor. My participation in the International Friendship Program has been very rewarding because of the wonderful relationships that have developed with former students and their families. I remain in contact with nearly all the students with whom I have been matched, some even on a daily basis.” 

Karnes was nominated by the Community Volunteers for International Programs committee.