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Putnam Valley Youth Chosen to Become an Ambassador in the International People-To-People Exchange Program
by Edward Paul Greiff
Sixteen-year-old Michelle Tendy of Putnam Valley is one of approximately thirty students chosen to carry on a fifty year old tradition of student ambassadorship as part of the "People-To-People" Initiative started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
As Supreme Allied Commander during World War II, General Eisenhower saw the devastation that war can cause and he believed that people of different cultures could resolve their differences in a peaceful manner if only they could communicate directly with each other.
In 1956, President Eisenhower called a special White House conference of American leaders who joined him in creating the People to People Initiative and, ever since then, each United States President has served as the honorary chairman of People to People International. Its mission is to provide person-to-person exchanges and firsthand experiences with other cultures.
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 attraction has now introduced over 250 million people to the concept that we may have our differences, but underneath we all share the same core values.
In describing the program President John F. Kennedy said, "The nature of People to People activities is as varied as the individuals involved. 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."
When asked how she felt about being selected to be an ambassador, Michelle was reservedly excited and said, "I've never been anywhere and this is a great opportunity to visit three countries (France, Italy, and Greece) in three weeks. The thought of going to the Louvre Museum in Paris really excited me. And going to the Sistine Chapel and seeing Michelangelo's painting of the ceiling and realizing he painted it while lying on his back for six months is amazing."
It is one thing to study history in a text book, but when you are actually standing there in the places you have only read about, history takes on a completely new meaning. After talking to the talented Miss Tendy you understand why she was chosen. Besides being an all-around good student, Michelle is an excellent artist, has a good eye for photography, and is an opera singing student. She has starred in the Putnam Valley High School Theater productions for the past three years. Hopefully, she says, when in Italy she can attend an Italian opera.
But there is much more to be gleaned from this journey as others before Michelle have experienced. Student Ambassador Alumni have written how their People to People experiences have changed the course of their lives. One 17 year-old student wrote about the friendship developed between an Israeli, a Palestinian and an American at a People to People International Peace camp in Egypt. "It was an experience of a lifetime," he said. "There was interaction I never could have had any other way with people I never would have met anywhere else." The bond still exists and the three still keep in touch across the many miles that separate them and their countries.
When President Eisenhower announced the formation of People to People as part of the U.S. State Department he said, "People in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments."
In addition to all the exciting overseas adventures, students can earn transferable high school and college credits through the People to People program.
As it gets closer to the actual travel date in July 2007, the emotional excitement of the opportunity presented to Michelle and the other students in the delegation will really begin to take hold. Parents try to provide for their children many positive experiences that build memories that last a lifetime and this is certainly one of these.
She passed the first step, being accepted; now she must complete the second step which is to raise the $6,000 cost of the trip. When asked how she intends to do this she replied, "Lots of babysitting jobs, help from friends and organizations and others who would like to make a donation."
We may not be going with Michelle on her trip but we share in her excitement and congratulate her on her ambassadorship.
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