MONROE COUNTY STUDENTS TRAVEL TO 9 COUNTRIES, GAIN GLOBAL SKILLS

This summer 2024, 19 high school students from three high schools in the Monroe County School District in the Florida Keys will travel abroad with The Experiment in International Living to participate in our international cross-cultural programs.

“We are thrilled to continue our longstanding partnership in Monroe County,” Christina Thomas, divisional vice president of youth exchanges at World Learning, announced. “Our students will travel to nine different countries and 12 different programs this summer.”

Heather Beard, director of enrollment management & partnerships, explained, “This spring, the students participated in our first-ever online global skills-building workshop and in-person pre-departure orientations. Later this fall, these students and their family members will have the opportunity to connect with each other, tell their stories, and share photos. We’ll also talk about integrating their unique experiences abroad into their daily lives, and how to translate a summer abroad into college preparations, including college essays.”

“Two of the enrolled students received partial need-based scholarships through The Experiment’s exclusive Monroe County Scholarship. Seventeen other students participated in Monroe County’s Take Stock in Children program. We greatly appreciate the support of the Monroe County Education Foundation to make this happen,”  Thomas said.

“The Experiment actively recruits students from across Monroe County, Florida, and we look forward to promoting our summer 2025 programs to students at all of the district’s high schools next fall,” Beard said.

The 19 students participating this summer are from three high schools:

Coral Shores High School:

  • Jazmyn Blassio, class of 2025, Italy: Culinary Training & Culture
  • Shelly Gonzalez Pedraza, class of 2026, France: Cultural Discovery Group 2 (with Switzerland)
  • Karla Gutierrez, class of 2026, France: Cultural Discovery Group 1 (with Germany)
  • Madison Heskett, class of 2026, Spain: Spanish Language through the Arts
  • Jordan Lubis, class of 2024, France: Cultural Discovery Group 1 (with Germany)
  • Pablo Marin, class of 2026, Spain: Cultural Discovery
  • Sabrina Rodriguez, class of 2027, South Korea: Korean Language & Culture

Key West High School:

  • Rony DeLeon Maldonado, class of 2025, Spain: Spanish Language & Culture
  • Nakathy Dort, class of 2026, Italy: Culinary Training & Culture
  • Nathalie Espinoza-Salgado, class of 2025, Japan: Japanese Language & Culture
  • Anela Ewing-Fisher, class of 2026, Japan: Anime & Manga
  • Cheila Fernandez, class of 2026, France: Cultural Discovery Group 2 (with Germany)
  • Jeremiah Harvey, class of 2025, The Leadership Institute: Climate Change in Costa Rica
  • Ysnailove Joseph, class of 2026, South Korea: K-Culture & Peacebuilding
  • Carlie MacFarland, class of 2026, Italy: Culinary Training & Culture
  • Dylan Martinez, class of 2025, Japan: Japanese Language & Culture
  • Jefferny Pierre, class of 2025, France: Cultural Discovery Group 1 (with Switzerland)

 

Marathon High School:

Zyan Wiggins, class of 2025, Japan: Anime & Manga

Jada Zapata-Lebo, class of 2026, South Korea: K-Culture & Peacebuilding

The Experiment in International Living has been the leader in international education and experiential learning for high school students for more than 90 years. On The Experiment’s summer abroad programs to four continents, students explore the world through hands-on experiences and homestays in local communities through the lens of a specific program focus, including college credit, internships, language training, sustainability and the environment, cultural discovery and the arts, or peace, politics, and human rights.

“The Experiment in International Living delivers concrete benefits in terms of life experience and professional training,” said World Learning CEO Carol Jenkins.

To learn more about The Experiment in International Living, visit www.experiment.org.

World Learning is a global nonprofit that works to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, cultural exchange, and locally led development. Through a portfolio of nearly 100 programs, World Learning helps equip individuals and institutions with fundamental and 21st-century skills, intercultural understanding, and networks worldwide to solve today’s most pressing and complex challenges. For more information, visit worldlearning.org.

To learn more about World Learning, visit www.worldlearning.org.

Shakenna, Key West High School class of 2024, participating in our Jordan: Arabic Language & the Middle East program last summer: “Before I left America, I had no idea what I wanted to study or do after I graduate. I want to study abroad in college and get introduced to foreign international studies. I’m so glad I got to experience this!”⁠

Experimenters in Spain, summer 2023

Experimenters having lunch along the Seine in Paris, France, summer 2023

Explore immersive videos about our programs here, The Experiment in International Living – YouTube.

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