Fifth Grader Selected to be Student Ambassador Will Explore Australia
Congratulations to Lydia Katrin (Grade 5S) who was recently chosen for the People to People Student Ambassador Program. This invitation-only program was created in 1956 by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who believed that ordinary citizens of different nations, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a way to live in peace. Since 1963, thousands of young Americans have traveled across international borders as student ambassadors, returning home with a greater sense of what it means to be a good neighbor and a global citizen.
Walt Disney created the "It's a Small World" attraction in 1964 after his participation in the People to People International White House conference. This popular attraction has introduced millions of people to a concept that is very familiar to everyone in the AIS community: that people around the world may have our differences, but underneath we all share the same core values.
Lydia will be traveling in the summer of 2007 on the three-week adventure, Exploring the Cultures of Australia. She will be going with 40 other fifth graders, chosen from different schools throughout the North Georgia area, and three teachers, one of whom is Middle School Counselor Jessica Burris. They will go to Sydney, Melbourne and the Coral Sea area, swim and snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, see koalas and kangaroos, explore the local ecosystems by hiking a rain forest, visit with Australia's Aboriginal peoples, play the didgeridoo, and meet and interact with Australian school children, among other things.
Lydia is very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, where she will have the opportunity to represent the best of the United States: hope, courage, openness and a love of peace. People to People Ambassador Programs bridge cultural and political borders through education and exchange, making the world a better place for future generations. Each ambassador develops self-awareness, a sense of belonging, and a greater awareness of their significance in the global community. For more information on the program, see www.studentambassadors.org (opens in a new window).