Preparing For My Fourth Year of Travel With Ambassadors

I'm preparing for my fourth summer of travel as a team leader for students traveling with People to People's Student Ambassador and Sports Ambassador programs.

The orientation for nominated students and their families from this area was held at UNC-G's Elliott Center Saturday.

The orientation sessions were set up for the different age brackets.

I attended the last one for fifth and sixth graders. It began at 5:00 PM, but families began arriving as early as 4:00 PM.

We gave students their own application booklets, as well as a "Meet Your Delegation Leader" sheet and a "Student Ambassador Interview Information" sheet.

The presentation, which included two short films about the program, an explanation of the application process, and brief statements by students who have traveled before and their parents, lasted about an hour.

This year's trip for fifth and sixth graders from this area is called the 2006 Yosemite Adventure.

I've been to California three times before and have always loved Yosemite. It's been nearly 10 years since my last visit so I'm excited about this opportunity. Plus, it will be neat to observe young students experiencing Yosemite for the first time.

We will also spend time in San Francisco.

Two of my colleagues at Southwest Guilford Middle School will hopefully be traveling with me this year: Diane Cook, an E.C. teacher, and Justin Horne, a fellow eighth-grade language arts teacher.

Special thanks to Tony Hairston, yet another eighth-grade language arts teacher at Southwest, for making this opportunity available for others and me.