While her fellow juniors were out in the wilderness, Kyla Husted was probably packing. The Animas High School junior will be spending the upcoming school year in Ghana, Africa, on a full scholarship through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
She was one of 50 students across the country to be selected for the program, which sends students to study in countries with significant Muslim populations. The program was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with the goal of increasing cross-cultural dialogue and understanding between the United States and those countries.
Husted said she has always wanted to be an exchange student, so she jumped on the opportunity when she saw a flier advertising the program.
She will leave Sept. 7 and will be living in Kumasi, a city in the center of the West African country.
She sees the program as a way to take a small step toward world peace.
“There are so many misconceptions about Muslims and what they believe,” Husted said. “It’s always important to create more cultural understanding.”
She isn’t religious at home, but Husted said she was looking forward to participating in the religious practices of her host family.
It didn’t take long to convince AHS teacher John Fisher to support Husted’s application.
“The experience of international travel for a teenager, especially an American teenager, can really take them outside of themselves and broaden their perspective,” Fisher said. “Maybe more than anything else they can do.”
ecowan@durangoherald.com
See the article here:
http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110831/NEWS05/708319969/-1/News05/High-school-students-go-solo#
