|
CVS students to visit Ireland, England next summer
By Justin Goble
Two local students were recently accepted to the prestigious People to People Student Ambassador Program.
Stepsisters and Cullowhee Valley School seventh-graders Megan Wike and Tayler Riouff will travel to England, Ireland and Wales next summer as part of the Student Ambassador program. There, they will stay with an Irish family for 20 days while taking part in activities like visiting the Houses of Parliament, rappelling down the side of castles and more.
In its 50th year, the program was founded by President Dwight Eisenhower as a means to open dialogue between people of different nations. According to the program Web site, Eisenhower started the program to allow ordinary citizens to see what life is like in other countries as a means to form relationships between people throughout the world.
Citing the organization motto of “promoting peace through understanding,” Eisenhower’s hope was that these new relationships would create closer ties among citizens, which would the first step in avoiding the atrocities of war he witnessed in World War II.
Cullowhee Valley School seventh-graders and stepsisters Tayler Riouff, left, and Megan Wike will travel to Ireland, England and Wales next summer as part of the People to People Student Ambassador program. Created by President Dwight Eisehnower as a means to allow ordinary citizens to see what life is like in other countries, the program will allow the two to live with an Irish family for 20 days while taking part in various activities and visiting historical sites. The girls and their family are planning several fund-raisers to finance the trip. For more information or to offer a donation, contact the Riouffs at triouff@earthlink.net.
According to the site, President John F. Kennedy, who served as the second honorary chairman for the People to People International program, reinforced that ideal by saying opportunities such as this would promote peace throughout the world.
“The nature of People to People activities is as varied as the individuals involved,” Kennedy said. “The housewife whose recipe contains the yeast of kindness, the soldier whose arms embrace homeless waifs, the doctor who heals with humility, all assert a single theme—the power of people, acting as individuals, to respond imaginatively to the world’s need for peace.”
Not only does participation allow participants to get a dose of life in other countries, it gives them a head start on their future education. According to Dora Riouff, Megan’s mother and Tayler’s stepmother, that has been one of its biggest selling points.
“They get college credit for history classes, and those transfer anywhere,” she said. “That’s one of the things we really like about the program.”
Students taking part in the program are nominated by their teachers and peers, though many nominees, including Tayler and Megan, never know who suggests them. Nominations are made on the basis of their leadership skills and character.
Tayler and Megan both said they are looking forward to the trip since it will give them a chance understand what life is like outside of Jackson County.
“It’ll be a chance to try something different,” Tayler said. “We’ll be able to try new things we wouldn’t get to any other way. We’ll be trying out different ways of life.”
“I really don’t know what to expect,” Megan said. “But I think it will be really interesting to live with a normal family in Ireland for a few days. You get to see how they live.”
Along with getting a taste of life in the British Isles, the girls said the trip will also be a great opportunity to experience much of the country’s history.
“I’m looking forward to visiting the castles,” Tayler said. “It will be neat to go there and see where and how people lived a long time ago.”
“England is the horse capital of the world, and I’m looking forward to being there,” Megan said. “And it will be cool to visit the sites where a lot of history has taken place.”
Dora Riouff said the two had been nominated the year before, but travel expenses were too high for the girls to take part. This year, she and husband Terry Wike have began taking steps to cover the costs, which average about $5,000 per student.
“They both wanted to do it,” Dora Riouff said. “We couldn’t say ‘yes’ to one and ‘no’ to the other, so we decided to let both of them go. We met with the other parents at Asheville High School to talk about this year’s program, and we got some ideas to come up with the money.”
“That’s been nice,” Terry Wike said. “We’ve been able to meet with the other parents and talk about how to raise money for the trip. The students have gotten the chance to meet as well, and they’re getting to know each other before they leave next summer.”
Dora Riouff said she and her family have a few plans in the works, and are trying to start putting back money before year’s end. To accomplish that goal, they hope to hold events that will involve the community in the fund-raising effort, she said.
“Nothing is definite yet, but we plan to have a bake sale before Christmas,” Dora Riouff said. “We’re also planning on doing a raffle, and we’re talking to a band about doing a benefit concert.”
For more information or to offer a donation, contact the Riouffs at triouff@earthlink.net.
|
