Tempe teens begin part one of international exchange

By Wrangler News Staff

Over the next few weeks, 28 outstanding high school students from Tempe will be embarking on international adventures of a lifetime as part of the Tempe Sister Cities Summer Exchange Program.

These students successfully made it through a rigorous application process that began last fall, which included a series of interviews with questions about local and world events and knowledge of Tempe’s international sister cities–Regensburg, Germany; Skopje, Macedonia; Lower Hutt, New Zealand; Zhenjiang, China;  Beaulieu sur Mer, France;  Carlow, Ireland;  Cuenca, Peru;  Cusco, Ecuador, Agra City, India, Timbuktu, Mali and Trollhattan, Sweden.

The Tempe delegates were matched with an international delegate and will spend 5 weeks living with the host family in their respective countries.  In early July, the Tempe delegates will return home and the international students will arrive in Tempe to spend 5 weeks participating in a variety of cultural activities including a trip to the Grand Canyon and Disneyland.  Host families will entertain the international students with visits to local museums, an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game, volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, and pool parties to help keep cool.

The students participating in the Summer Exchange Program all live in Tempe, and attend 10 different high schools, including McClintock, Marcos de Niza, The New School for Arts and Academics, Chandler Prep, Tempe Prep, Basis—Ahwatukee, Veritas Prep, Tempe High, Xavier and Corona, which has 15 students who were selected to participate in the program.

“I know from first-hand experience how much of an impact participation in the Summer Exchange Program can have on a young person, said Tempe Sister Cities President, Paul Sheard, who was a delegate to Zhenjiang, China in 2002.  “It is very true that Tempe Sister Cities is ‘bringing the world together one friendship at a time’.  The friendships developed among these young people , some which will last a lifetime, will go a long way toward bringing our countries together in a very unique and personal way, fostering inclusiveness across cultures.”

Over 900 students have participated in the Student Exchange since 1972.  You can follow the activities of the Summer Exchange on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tempesistercities.org/. 

The 2019 Summer Program delegates are:

Corona del Sol High School — Rowan Alper, Ireland; Kate Alperin, Germany; Cecilla Bradley, France; Elena Bustamonte, Germany; Hayden Eastwood, North Macedonia; Olivia Hirano, Sweden; Jeffrey Jacobs, China; Natalie Marschel, Ecuador; Meghan McCain, China; Sophia Montoya, Ireland; Ann Ross, Germany; Cynthia Saxton, New Zealand; Suzanna Scheuerer, France; Skylar Schineller, New Zeland; Sarah Stellburg, Ireland.

Marcos de Niza High School — Alex Norrish, Germany

McClintock High School — Tasi Harrington, Sweden; Julie Myers, France; Declan Rhodes, China; Isabel Warriner, North Macedonia.

New School for the Arts — Tori Cord, Germany

Basis Ahwatukee — Vivian Lee, Peru.

Tempe Prep — Stella Lovely, China; Jacqueline Risch, Ecuador

Tempe High School — Ann Shick, Peru

Veritas Prep — Aerin Searle, North Macedonia

Xavier College Prep — Carmen Villalva, France.