Where in the World are DCPS Students?: From China to Central America, Students Gain Knowledge in Global Travel and Summer Internships
July 7, 2010
Learning doesn’t end on the last day of school. Every summer, high-achieving DCPS students with intellectual, academic or career-focused curiosity improve their knowledge and gain experience through internships at businesses, agencies and institutes of higher learning in the DC area and throughout the world. Here are just a few opportunities our youngsters will embark on this summer that will help answer the question: “Where in the World are DCPS Students?”
 School Without Walls Grad Works on Wind Energy
Seonwoo Ted Jeong, 17, a Class of 2010 graduate of School Without Walls, is working on a paid internship this summer with the Washington, D.C.-based American Wind Energy Association, a national trade association for wind energy industry. From now through August, Jeong will work in the AWEA financial department where he will get an in-depth insider’s look at the monetary benefits of AWEA’s program.
Six DCPS Students to Study in China This Summer
Six District of Columbia Public Schools students are in Beijing, China, this summer for a six-week Chinese language and culture program through Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA).
This program is partially funded through the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth Program. This is the third year that DCPS students have participated in the China Scholars Program. The DC Center for Global Education and Leadership (CGEL) has served as APSA’s local DC partner.
The DCPS students chosen are:
- Olivia Carrion – School Without Walls
- Lyric Carter – Phelps
- Jacquan Clark – Roosevelt Senior High School
- Sydney Hall – School Without Walls
- Jordan Howie – School Without Walls
- Nathan Kohrman – Wilson SHS
In a highly competitive process, this year’s applicants were required to have completed at least one academic year of Chinese prior to the summer, and to have maintain a minimum of a 3.0 grade-point average. In addition, the review panel weighed each student’s involvement in school-based and community activities, maturity, leadership abilities, commitment to the program, and potential to serve as positive representatives of their country, city, and schools.
The six DCPS students will be joined this summer by 30-35 other high school students from public schools in Rochester (N.Y.), Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Denver and New York City. After their full-group orientation in Washington, D.C., they traveled to China on June 27 for an intensive and challenging program of Chinese language instruction, culture classes, field trips, community service, project-based learning, and visits to international businesses and other work settings.
One of last year’s China Scholars, Gabriel Allen of Wilson SHS, has been selected by a related State Department program for a full year of funded Chinese language study in China. This will be his gap year and then he goes on to University of North Carolina.
Banneker Students Travel the Globe
In the World Languages Department at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, students pursue opportunities to enhance their language skills, as well as to travel abroad to meet and share with cultures around the world. This summer, travel abroad participants include:
- Brandon Holden is one of only 35 students nationwide to receive the highly competitive National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarship to study the Turkish language this summer in Istanbul, Turkey. Brandon will be in Turkey for six to eight weeks, with all expenses paid, including travel. While in Turkey, Brandon will take courses in the Turkish language and go on many cultural excursions. This scholarship is sponsored by the United States government and administered by the Department of State.
Five Banneker High School students will participate in The Experiment in International Living program for four weeks this summer. Each program challenges students to develop a close connection with the people and culture of another country. They will experience daily life firsthand within a caring host family and as part of a diverse group sharing a fun and thought-provoking adventure. Through home-stays, adventure travel, experiential learning and language immersion, students will build leadership and communication skills, gain essential international experience, increase their self-confidence, and enhance global awareness. As a group, they will raise $5,000, but they will receive awards totaling close to $30,000.
The students will travel in small groups and engage directly in a new culture through community service, language study, travel, ecology, the arts, cooking, photography, theater, or outdoor adventure.
Ruth Sauls, María Marroquín, and Kevin Iraheta will spend three days in Paris, and 17 days with a family, to finish their program with a once-in-a-lifetime set of activities.
Sauls could hike through the dramatic landscape of the Alps, climb massive glaciers, try white-water rafting on a river, while practicing French with locals in centuries-old villages. She will conclude her trip with a hike over the Italian border, for an overnight in the mountains.
Marroquín will discover the unique culture of southwest France and the majestic border area shared with Spain. In the shadow of the Pyrenees, she will embrace the French language and culture with a host family. Additionally, she will hike mountain trails, visit several cities and enjoy the fascinating Basque and Catalonian cultures. Following her journey to Andorra, she will relax and experience city life in Barcelona, Spain.
Iraheta will be under the guidance of a French photojournalist. He will experience the beauty and power of photography. He will explore the colorful neighborhoods of Paris equipped with his camera and French language skills. His journey will culminate with a show of his photo-documentary work in Paris.
Samantha Dewar and Chidima Offor will begin their adventure with three days in Madrid. They will explore the city’s medieval streets, visit museums. They will have discussions in city parks and diverse neighborhoods to strengthen their understanding of contemporary Spanish life and culture. They will enjoy a full-day excursion to historic Toledo.
Then, Offor will travel to Andalucía and be engaged in the artistic and cultural traditions of this lively region. She will participate in a flamenco workshop; explore the countryside on horseback; create pottery in a traditional factory; marvel at the works of Gaudi, Picasso, and Miró, and visit the Alhambra. In the final week, she will explore from the Costa Brava to the fascinating city of Barcelona.
Dewar will trace the historical and cultural influences necessary for a tolerant multicultural society in modern Spain. She will spend time with young people recently emigrated from South America and Northern Africa, and travel to the north of Spain to volunteer with a local community-based organization working to integrate recent immigrants into Spanish society. Her adventure concludes with a week exploring the Basque country and communities, along the Cantabric Sea in the north.
A unique feature to the Banneker’s program is the Community Service component. The school has another group of four students who are committed to continuing their language skills, global education and service learning by participating in The AMIGOS de las Americas’ Volunteers program. They will be part of community health and development projects in Latin America in partnership with international development agencies, local nonprofit and government agencies and host communities. They will live with host families and work in groups in a community, with a unique opportunity to experience Latin America in a very personal way.
They are Kelly Williams, Jasmine Wrenn, Amana Bawa and Karyn Wilson. For the last six months, they have participated in weekly sessions on Spanish language acquisition, and multicultural skills training. Each one of them had to raise more than $5,500 to paid for their own travel and lodging expenses, as well as to contribute to the development of the different community projects, where together with their hosts, and International agency, they will decide how to conduct the projects. Just to name a few, they could be any of the following:
- The establishment or renovation of a sports field, playground, bus stop or park, a community building, school or library;
- The establishment of a community garden;
- Contributing to environmental improvement efforts including trash pick-ups, recycling efforts and reforestation; or
- The creation of murals and the hosting of cultural expositions.
Williams will travel to San Juan, Dominican Republic. For eight weeks her project will focus on sport and leadership. Some of her Project Specific Activities are:
- Promoting leadership skills, team building and youth empowerment through sports; and
- Partnering with local youth to run camps for children ages 5 to 12.
Wrenn will travel to Oaxaca, Mexico, where her project focus is nutrition education. For eight weeks, she will work with the members of this community. To be accepted as a volunteer for this project, she had to demonstrate a high level of Spanish proficiency. Some of her project specific activities are:
- Working with community members on nutrition issues, including amaranth planting, cooking demonstrations and community/family gardens; and
- Collaborating with local youth to conduct workshops about amaranth and general nutrition.
Bawa’s location is Matagalpa, Nicaragua. She will stay for six weeks. And the focus of her project is safe water and the environment. Some of the specific activities are:
- To promote leadership skills, team building and youth empowerment through environmental activities; and
- To partner with local youth to run camps for ages 5 to 12 focusing on environmental issues (e.g. water cycle, trash pick-up, deforestation).
For seven weeks, Wilson will focus on environmental health, this time in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. Some of her project-specific activities will be: carrying out environmental health activities in collaboration with community youth; and partnering with local youth to run camps for ages 5 to 12.
- Domonique Roberts Mack and Yasmine Arrington, rising seniors at Banneker High School will travel to Zambia with Learn-Serve International from June 21 to July 9.
- Student Lauren Robinson will travel to Costa Rica with Georgetown MICP College Prep from August 14 - 21.
Banneker’ legacy continues driving its students, even after they leave us to go to college. Wilson will be under the supervision of Naomi Washington-Roque (Class of 2009). She worked as a volunteer for the Amigos de las Americas for two years and traveled to the Dominican Republic and Panama. This year, she is working as a project supervisor.
Wilson Students at Home and Abroad
Woodrow Wilson High School sophomore Julia Peck will take part in two international experiences this summer. She received a scholarship to study in Paris from July 7-17, and will participate in a program in Jerusalem from July 17-August 6.
Balbine Jourdan, a junior at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, will participate in a competitive Molecular Immunology Lab internship at the National Institutes of Health - National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda this summer.
Woodrow Wilson High School Senior John Lawrence will participate in a U.S. Department of Energy internship this summer. He and fellow senior Evan Holly also are in contention for DC Scholars - White House Internships.
Woodrow Wilson Senior High School juniors Luis Cruz Gomez and Christopher Rickard will participate in an internship at the National Institutes of Health - National Library of Medicine this summer.
Charlotte Frazier, Class of 2011, will participate in a community service sojourn program in Costa Rica.
Student Abby Israel will go to Honduras with Amigos de las Americas.
McKinley Students find Local Internships
Students from McKinley Technology High School will participate in a variety of local internships this summer through a partnership with The Urban Alliance. Their names and company placements are as follows:
Rasheedah Al-Akbar, Joy in Motion
Rashad Brockington, Verizon
Mariah Brown, Courtyard Marriott
Galen Buie, Corporate Executive Board
Shawntue Haygood, Bank of America
Marvin Higginbotham, Children’s Hospital/Howard University School of Dentistry
Blake Lynch, TV One
Valerie Pope, DLA Piper Law Firm
Marissa Shuford, Councilman Barry’s office
Jessica Vaughn, Capital Source
Crystal Walton, Atlantic Media Company
Tenisha Wynn, Glover Park Group
Robert Young, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Group
Ballou SHS Students Secure Variety of Internships
Ballou Senior High School students will take part in a variety of internships this summer in an around Washington, D.C., at the following locations:
- U.S. Department of Transportation;
- DARCars dealerships with support from the Toyota Foundation;
- PENFaulkner;
- Law Office of Alston & Bird; and
- National Zoo
Hart Middle School Student to Study in Korea
Cristal Sandoval, a rising eighth-grader at Charles Hart Middle School, will travel to Korea this summer to take part in the competitive summer Fulbright Junior Internship Program (CFJIP) Program hosted by the Korean American Educational Commission. The program, held in conjunction with the Camp Fulbright English Immersion Program, brings students from the United States to Korea to interact with Korean campers and learn about Korean culture through classes, workshops, and activities. It is a great benefit not only to American children but also to the Korean children who practice their English and establish ties of cross-cultural friendship.
Sandoval, who competed with peers across the country, will be one of 12 camp participants. Her leadership was greatly applauded by the camp director who interviewed each candidate for the camp.
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