Iolan Zack Osborn will learn the history and culture of several European countries and communities, while he travels the continent as a student ambassador.
Osborn, son of Iolans Tim and Barbara Osborn, will travel to Europe June 15 for a 19-day stay in Italy, France, Austria and Switzerland as part of the People To People Student Ambassador program.
“I’d thought about going to Europe as an adult if I could afford it,” Osborn said. “I never dreamed I would get to go to all of these places at this age. It’s not a common opportunity.”
The trip includes more than just tours.
Osborn also will spend time with a family in Lucerne in the heart of Switzerland for three days.
The goal of the visits, Osborn said, is to learn more about the people and backgrounds of Europe while representing American teenagers as their ambassador.
Of course, the trip will be filled with tours of sites steeped in history and tradition, such as the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City and the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower and Musee du Louvre in Paris and at one of Europe’s most notorious World War II concentration camps in Salzburg, Austria.
He’ll also meet with several heads of state or their representatives, and if possible, see foreign governing bodies in action.
THE PEOPLE to People movement dates back to 1956, at the heart of the Cold War.
Then-President Dwight Eisenhower believed that direct interaction between ordinary citizens around the world could promote cultural understanding and world peace.
Two of the program’s initiators were Joyce Hall of Hallmark cards and Walt Disney, both from the Midwest.
Since then, more than 400,000 delegates have traveled across all seven continents.
Participants were invited after a stringent pre-screening, in which People to People organizers looked at each student’s standing in their respective communities, particularly through their community service efforts.
Osborn has completed several community service projects through his role with the Humboldt High School FFA chapter. He and his parents also travel to Kansas City annually to volunteer with Harvesters Food Bank.
He didn’t qualify alone. He was required to receive three letters of recommendation, and several local residents and businesses helped fund the trip.
Osborn has already seen one fringe benefit.
Since meeting on a regular basis with other student ambassadors, Osborn has made several friends with high-schoolers from across the Midwest.
“I’ve gotten to know a few of them,” he said. “It’s exciting.”
OSBORN’S TRIP takes him to Rome, Volterra and Padua, Italy; Friesach, Vienna and Salzburg, Austria; Heidiland and Lucerne, Switzerland; and Strasbourg and Paris in France.
He returns home July 3.
