11 named American Embassy youth ambassadors
ELEVEN students from five high schools in St James were recently selected as American Embassy youth ambassadors and will shortly travel to the US for a three-week cultural and educational exchange programme.
The students, who range in age from 14 to 17, are from St James High, Irwin High, Spot Valley High, Cambridge High, and Green Pond High.
Public affairs officer at the embassy Yolanda Kerney said the youngsters selected were those who were already involved as volunteers in their communities.
“We wanted to find students who were motivated to do a wonderful exchange and come back and find a way to implement what they learnt in their communities,” she said.
Kerney added that the students are expected, as a group, to put in place an outreach programme within their community when they return from the trip, which will take them to Colorado next month.
“This type of exchange, where students go to the US and return after three weeks, has gone on for more than 50 years, but in Jamaica, with the youth ambassadors, this is the second year,” she explained.
“They understand that they have been given a tremendous opportunity to travel and learn, and we try to impress upon them the fact that they have a responsibility when they return, not only to themselves but [also] to the wider community,” Kerney added.
The Embassy’s Youth Ambassadors Programme within the Caribbean will bring a total of 78 students and 12 adult youth educators to Colorado and Washington DC from several Caribbean countries.
The other participating countries are the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Suriname, and Guyana.
Through collaboration with a variety of organisations, individuals and educational institutions, the youth ambassadors will take part in multifaceted workshops and discussions, focusing on leadership, community engagement, civic discourse, and social entrepreneurship.
While in the US, the youngsters will each live with a separate host family, experience life and school with American teenagers, as well as meet grassroots activists and community organisers.
Sixteen-year-old Julius Reid, one of the students who will be going on the trip, confessed to being very excited about the opportunity.
“I expect it to be very interesting and motivating. I would like to learn how other countries operate and to learn their culture and share mine,” the fourth-form student at Irwin High told Career & Education at a pre-departure orientation session, held at the Embassy last Tuesday.
André Bromley, who was among those selected for the programme in 2011, has attested to its value. He said his experience was not only fun, but also inspiring.
Bromley said that he and 11 students from the West Kingston area visited Washington DC, and were sent to Wyoming and Rochester. During the visit, he said they were taught leadership, time management and budgeting skills.
When they returned, he said the group started a homework centre in Trench Town to assist students preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
“After the first run, we saw that it was not only at the GSAT level that we needed to help, but it was also in the years before they get to that level because of the numeracy and literacy challenges, so we are currently still engaged in that programme, helping students from age nine up,” the 18-year-old said.
He added that the homework centre currently has 15 students preparing for the GSAT.
Bromley attended Tivoli Gardens High at the time of the trip, then later St George’s College. He is now studying computer science at the University of Technology.