St. Peter Claver Students Share Summer Adventures

Published: September 9, 2004

DECATUR—“What I Did This Summer” is the perennial writing assignment at the beginning of new school sessions everywhere. This summer four students at St. Peter Claver Regional Catholic School had some interesting travel and learning adventures to describe.

Lauren Izegbu and Breona Castillo, rising eighth-grade students, and Kareth Hartley, a rising seventh-grade student, were accepted last spring into the People to People World Leadership Forum held in Washington, D.C., July 1-7. The students returned with a deeper understanding of leadership in America’s centers of justice, legislation and history.

Another rising eighth-grade student, Morgan Taylor, was a People to People Student Ambassador who spent three weeks experiencing the cultures of Spain, France and Italy.

The People to People World Leadership Forum took Izegbu, Castillo, Hartley and other students from Capitol Hill in Washington to the Smithsonian Institute and from colonial Williamsburg, Va., to the National Museum of American History, giving them an opportunity to examine the characteristics of American leadership during times of national challenge and prosperity. Forum delegates also participated in small-group discussions and exercises to experience firsthand how successful leaders develop strategies, make decisions, build consensus and foster change.

Through visits to Capitol Hill where they met congressional leaders, to the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, the students gained an understanding of U.S. government. Topics included “The Civil and Cold Wars: Understanding Domestic and International Conflict,” and a day in colonial Williamsburg to learn more about “Building a New Nation.” Forum participants earned transferable high school credit for the course of study they completed while at the forum.

As part of the Student Ambassador program, Taylor traveled with a student delegation for three weeks during the summer to learn about, share and represent their communities and schools in other countries. Student ambassadors experience unparalleled opportunities for personal growth through an enriching program of educational and cultural interaction. By becoming a student ambassador, participants gain an appreciation for the world in which they live, build self-confidence, enrich their education through learning in the global classroom, and develop increased levels of maturity and independence. Student ambassador delegations are composed of 30-40 students led by experienced educators.

The itinerary began in Madrid, moved to Barcelona and Figueres, Spain, before crossing into Tautavel, France, where the students took part in an archaeological dig at the European Prehistoric Research Center. In Provence each student spent three days with a French family, learning what life is like for a French student. After leaving their host families, the delegation moved to the French Riviera and the principality of Monaco. In Italy the group studied the great art of Florence and had a drawing session with two of the top art professors in the area. A visit to the Vatican and a tour through a monastery were the grand finale of their trip.

These St. Peter Claver students were nominated and accepted for the honor of participating in People to People programs based on their outstanding scholastic merit, civic involvement and leadership potential. The programs are coordinated by People to People International to fulfill the vision of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who founded the program in 1956 to foster world citizenship.