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Posted September 19, 2022
Three Plymouth High School students were able to spend part of the summer learning and exploring in a foreign country, thanks to CIEE Global Navigator Scholarships.
Olivia Monkoski spent four weeks in the Language and Culture Immersion program in Barcelona, Spain. “I loved all the excursions our program took us on; those days are definitely some of my favorite memories,” she said. “Also, my highlights are just exploring the city and the things we found to do around the city.”
That sentiment was echoed by Grace Lambert, who spent four weeks in the Language Immersion Program in Mexico. “The excursions and trips were some of my favorite memories,” she said.
Arianna Fohr spent three weeks doing a Global Entrepreneurship in Berlin, Germany. “A few highlights of my trip included meeting new people and living in their culture,” she said. “The culture shocks made me realize how different people live on a daily basis. It was a good experience to live in their shoes, how they live their life.”
Interacting with people from other cultures was a key part of the experience for all three students. “I met so many new people that are now some of my best friends,” Olivia said. “I now have people all over the world (literally) that I can call family.”
Grace added, “Interacting with locals and getting to know some of them was an incredible experience. I had the opportunity to make lifelong friends, and have visited some of them since the trip’s end.”
Foreign travel taught each of them about other cultures – and about themselves. “Though you can learn about various cultures in school, you really can’t fully understand it until you’ve lived it,” Grace said. “I have so much newfound appreciation for what I have, but I also have seen and experienced firsthand issues that we don’t experience in the States.”
She said going to Mexico was one of the best decisions, if not the best decision, of her life. “Not only did I earn college credit for my studies, but I also had the opportunity to learn and experience cultures I had very little background knowledge of prior to my trip,” she said. “I’m so much more confident in my speaking and listening skills in Spanish, and have so much more appreciation for the people around me than I could have ever imagined.”
Olivia said it was hard to be away from home, and her experience was not perfect – which taught her to find the good in everything and work the best out of situations. “Traveling abroad teaches you so many things that will better you in the future, like how to navigate a city; in another language, how to interact with people you’ve never met or really interacted with, and how problem solve quickly,” she said.
All three believe the trip will have a lasting impact for them.
“As amazing as Plymouth is, getting out and seeing the world and learning was the best experience for me as a person and showed me there is so much more out there!” Olivia said.
The trip cemented for Grace what she means to do with her life. “I can wholeheartedly say it’s that I’d like to make a lasting impact on the world,” she said. “Though I’m young, I believe I can start by combating common stereotypes in conversations and possibly projects throughout the rest of my education.”
Arianna said the trip changed some of her views of the world, and her ideas about her own future. “The trip made me want to just travel more and live out in different cultures,” she said. “The world has so much more to offer than just in the United States, and you’ll learn new things every day.”
She encouraged others to travel globally. “It could be the best time of your life, and the experiences you get can change the way you look at the world,” she said. “Even if you think you’ve lived it all and seen all you can see, trust me there is so much more than just that.”
About Global Navigator Scholarships
Scholarship recipients are selected by the Council on International Educational Exchange from the school’s applicants based on both merit and financial need. CIEE, founded in 1947, is a non-profit organization promoting international education and exchange.
This was the sixth year that PHS received scholarships. In 2020, one student went to Costa Rica. In 2019, five students went to the Dominican Republic, England, Germany, and Spain. In 2018, 12 students visited Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. In 2017, four PHS students studied in Botswana, the Dominican Republic, France and Thailand. In 2016, nine students went to Botswana, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.
PHS students can apply for CIEE Global Navigator Scholarships for travel during the summer of 2023. Applications are due Jan. 18. Visit https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/high-school-study-abroad/summer; see Spanish teacher Laura Koebel for more information.
Learn more:
• Visit the Innovative Opportunities section of our interactive, award-winning District Report Card to learn more about the unparalleled opportunities for international experiences available to our students.
