Five students go in search of peace

Central Valley - Local students Christie Gorman, Abe Hussain, Lauren Martin, Jesse Navatta and Gio Ackerman will represent the United States this summer during a 20-day tour of Europe as part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program. The program was created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower 50 years ago at a time when the world was divided by Cold War politics. Eisenhower believed that the only way to prevent another conflict was to build peace one person at a time. “People want peace,” he said. “Indeed, I believe they want peace so much that the governments will just have to step aside and let them have it.” One of the people he drafted to help with the program was Walt Disney, who subsequently created one of Disneyland’s popular attraction, “It’s A Small World.” Since 1963 thousands of American students have participated. The five Monroe-Woodbury students will travel in July on a Mediterranean Discovery trip to Italy, Spain and France. Over the next four months they will be raising funds to cover their travel expenses. They have already earned their place on this trip through high grades, community service, positions of leadership and a personal commitment to World Peace. Monroe Woodbury School District is unable to permit them to raise funds on the school grounds. While student fundraising is a daily occurrence on campus, it is permissible only to sanctioned school clubs and the Ambassador Program does not qualify. Local families or businesses able to contribute are asked to contact Gio Ackerman at 237 Oakland Ave., Monroe N.Y. 10950, or simply contact the one of the student ambassadors. For Valentine’s Day, the students will be selling roses at the Captain’s Table and at various restaurants around the Monroe-Woodbury area on the nights of Saturday, Feb. 11, and Tuesday, Feb.14. They also plan to sell candy outside of Stop and Shop on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25-26. Subsequent events will include the sale of handmade jewelry and possibly showcasing their musical talents in a benefit concert. Here are brief profiles of the student ambassadors: • Jesse Navatta is a sophomore at Monroe-Woodbury High School. He is an active member of the Ski Team, French Club and Science Club. He also is a member of the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the Wildlife Conservation Club, and the Nature Conservancy. His support of these organizations has helped promote numerous causes, such as the effort to end oil drilling in the Arctic. He is a veterinary assistant at the Central Valley Animal Hospital. He is very excited to be a People to People Student Ambassador this summer and hopes to help “end stereotypes, promote world unity, and teach Spain, France and Italy what it’s like to be an American.” • Abe Hussain is a junior at Monroe-Woodbury High School. He participates in Model UN, is an experienced lacrosse player, and a consistent honor roll student. Abe familiarizes himself with a wide variety of music genres and also plays the drums and guitar. Co-founder and lead singer of the band Damascus, he is often seen performing with his “scream-o experimental” band at venues all over Orange County, most recently the American Legion Hall in Greenwood Lake. “Why try to only make peace in America when you can do it overseas, too? As Bill and Ted would say, ‘Be excellent to each other.’” • Lauren Martin, the youngest of the five local ambassadors, is a freshman at Monroe-Woodbury High School. She is a soprano in the freshman chorus and is also a member of Teen Outreach. Lauren spends her summers volunteering at the Chester library and enjoys cooking and traveling in her free time. She is in all honors classes and enjoys her academics. The People to People Student Ambassador program, she said, is “about trying to get people of all different races and religions to live peacefully with each other.” • Christie Gorman is a junior at Monroe-Woodbury High School and a member of the National Honor Society. She has participated in the Odyssey of the Mind program for six years, competing on both a regional and statewide level. Christie is the vice president of the Interact community service group in the high school. She also anticipates in the Mock Trials club and, outside of school, is an active member of the PETA Foundation. In her spare time, Christie enjoys dancing in the rain. She said she is excited to be “spreading the peace” and carrying Eisenhower’s dream for young peacemakers. • Gio Ackerman is a sophomore. He has been a member of many choral ensembles and played the violin through 8th grade. He continues to sing, and also plays the guitar and drums. As athletic as he is musical, Gio holds a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and teaches martial arts at the Yong-In Martial Arts University in Monroe. He has also played AYSO soccer since he was a “kinderkicker” in kindergarten. Gio belongs to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and is on the church’s Youth Leadership Team. He has traveled on two mission trips to Lincoln County, W.V., one of the country’s poorest areas. On these trips, he helped fix up homes and run a Bible Camp for the local children. He recently assisted at St. Paul’s Art Auction at Mansion Ridge to raise money for Safe Homes of Orange County. “Travel is probably my most favorite hobby. I celebrated my thirteenth birthday at the base of an active volcano in Costa Rica with my family. Now I have the opportunity to travel overseas with my peers in the name of peace and world unity.”