The purpose of this website is to provide you with some information about the People to People Student Ambassador program. I decided to make this website because of the fact that I enjoyed my People to People trip, which was to Europe and titled Europe Discovery, in the summer of 2002, SO much. Read on to learn about People to People's purpose, how it was founded, by whom, and about my own personal experience with People to People Student Ambassadors.
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THE BASICS:
People to People Student Ambassadors program was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The purpose of People to People is to create peace among nations, starting with kids, who will one day be the decision-makers and peace-makers of the country. Now, over 18,000 students have participated in the People to People program! If you'd like to learn more about People to People, please visit their official website.
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MY TRIP:
My trip with People to People was the Europe Discovery trip, which I went on in the summer of 2002. If you'd like, you can view my group itinerary here.
THE BEGINNING:
One day, I received a letter from People to People in the mail, inviting me to come to an orientation meeting and then to apply to go to Europe with this organization. I had been invited to another People to People trip two years before, but declined. My twin brother had just returned from his trip with People to People to Australia, and my cousin had also visited Australia with People to People. Both relatives gave an absolutely positive account of their trips, and so I decided that I would at least go to the orientation meeting to see what this was all about.
Seeing the pictures and hearing what we would see and learn at the orientation meeting helped make up my mind right away: this was a chance that I could not miss!
I submitted a form to have an interview to get into the Europe Discovery program. Within a few weeks, I had a date set for the interview. A few weeks after my interview, I received a letter welcoming me into the People to People program.
I started attending monthly meetings with my fellow delegates in January of 2002. I got to know most of the people I'd be traveling with come summer, and I also learned a lot about where we'd be traveling during these meetings.
THE JOURNEY:
We left on our flight to Rome, Italy on June 28, 2002. During the 21-day trip, we visitied four unique countries (Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France) and learned and saw so much. Although I, personally, did miss my family, there was so much to do that there was hardly any time at all to think about homesickness. I know that this is a concern for many kids going away from home for the first time, as it was for me, but really, there is never any time to worry about missing family and friends. For me, my trip to Europe was the trip of a lifetime.
Again, you can learn more about People to People by visiting the website. Also, if you have any questions for me about my trip to Europe, feel free to e-mail me.