| Dracut
teen to explore Europe as student ambassador
DRACUT -- When the people of Italy,
France and Greece meet Kaylie Crawford
of Dracut this summer, they will see what
is best about the United States.
Bright, articulate and mature beyond
her years, Crawford, a 14-year-old freshman
at Dracut High School, is one of 40 young
people from Massachusetts chosen to take
part in the People To People Student Ambassador
Program from July 9 to July 28. The program
was founded in 1956 by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower as a way to establish peaceful
and cordial relationships between countries.
After being interviewed last month by
a panel from the PPSAP and officially
accepted, Crawford embarked on a letter-writing
campaign to raise the $5,000 she will
need for the trip. Donations have begun
to trickle in from businesses, friends
and family members. With the help of her
parents, Rocky and Patti Crawford, she
is sponsoring a 50/50 raffle.
"We set up a table at the CVS store
on Lakeview Avenue last Saturday and sold
a grand total of three tickets,"
she states. "But I am not discouraged.
In the event that I don't come up with
the money, I'm still going. It will have
to come out of our own pocket and over
time we will have to put the money back,
but this is an opportunity that I cannot
pass up just because of money. Nobody
is taking my place."
An honors student, Crawford can earn
valuable high-school and college credits
on the trip. She looks forward to experiencing
European culture first-hand. France will
be nice, what with the Eiffel Tower, the
Louvre and the Champ Elysees. And she's
excited about visiting Italy, the cathedrals
of the Vatican, the Leaning Tower of Pisa
and the countryside of Tuscany, but it
is Greece to which she is most looking
forward.
"I just love everything about that
country," she gushes. "Don't
get me wrong, France and Italy will be
exciting, too, but I love Greek mythology
and history and I am so fascinated with
the culture."
Asked what the program means to her,
Crawford, who plays alto saxophone for
the Dracut High School Band as well as
the school's Jazz Band, says it is about
friendship and peace.
"If we can be the face of America
and promote peace, someday the whole world
will live in peace," she says. "I
want to learn about other countries and
I want people to learn about our country."
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