People to People Student Ambassador Program

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People to People Student Ambassador Program

People to People Seal and logo
Formation	1956
Type	Youth Peace Ambassador/Travel
Headquarters	Spokane, Washington
Official languages	English
President	Mary Jean Eisenhower
Key people	George W. Bush (Current Honorary Chairman) Dwight D. Eisenhower (Founder) Walt Disney (Founding Director)
Website	People to People Student Ambassadors Program

The People to People Student Ambassador Program is an organization based in Spokane, Washington, that offers educational international travel opportunities to elementary, middle, and high school students. The program is administered by Ambassadors Group Inc, a publicly traded corporation^[1], however it is one of the sponsored programs of People to People International which is a non-profit organization.^[2] The mission of such programs is to "promote peace through understanding," in the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who the group claims founded the program in 1956. The group that administers the program's SEC filing states the group was founded in 1967 and reincorporated in 1995 ^[3].

The typical length of programs for high school age participants is three weeks, and two weeks for middle school travelers. People to People Student ambassador programs are geared for students age 10 through age 18.^[4] Student Ambassador delegations are composed of approximately 30 to 40 students.^[5] Fees vary for domestic and international programs. Prices include all travel expenses, as well as lodging, meals, and activities and these arrangements are made and managed by Ambassadors Group, Inc. (NASDAQ EPAX). The cost varies by program, but has been reported at approximately $5,000-$7,000 for a high-school program in a foreign country and approximately $2,000-$3,000 for a domestic program.^[6] The tuition cost does not include items such as passport costs, potential fuel surcharges, emergency funds, or souvenirs. The student:teacher ratio is typically no greater than 10:1, and is often much lower.^[7]

Some examples of countries where students have visited include Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, China, Italy, Greece, Fiji, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and Russia. Experienced alumni students looking to participate in the program again are given the ability to choose more exotic destinations for their next trip such as South Africa, or Antarctica.

The coordinator of the People to People program reports that more than 344,000 students, adults and athletes have participated in the ambassador programs since 1983.^[7]

Contents 1 History 2 Notable People to People alumni 3 Nomination and application process 4 Academic accreditation 5 Better Business Bureau 6 Program management 7 2008/2009 Program Fees 8 Hill Family Lawsuit 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sought an alternative to the wars he witnessed as a soldier, general and Allied Commander. He called a White House conference of 100 of the top American leaders who joined him in creating the People to People initiative. One of the participants in this conference was Walt Disney, who became one of the founding directors of People to People and later drew inspiration from the People to People initiative to create the "It's a Small World" attraction in 1964.^[4] The program was originally sponsored by the U.S. Information Agency. Eisenhower, the founder of the People to People initiative, decided in 1961 that it should be preserved by private citizens and asked Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, to move the program to the private sector. In 1962, the first delegation of university students traveled overseas and stayed with families all over Europe. The first Student Ambassador Program was organized in 1963. People to People recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special program in Washington, D.C. The program included a formal reception hosted by Mary Eisenhower and a keynote address by Tom Brokaw. Eight U.S. Presidents since President Eisenhower have served as honorary chairman of People to People, including President George W. Bush.^[7]

[edit] Notable People to People alumni

Olympic gold medalist and decathlete Rafer Johnson serves on the People to People board of directors and ran the organization's West Coast office.^[8]

Malcolm David Kelley, a child actor, traveled to the United Kingdom as a Student Ambassador.^[9]

Corbin Bleu, an actor famous for his appearances in High School Musical is a former student ambassador.

[edit] Nomination and application process

Regarding the People to People Student Ambassador program, The New York Times wrote the following: "One important aspect is a request to teachers and alumni to recommend students for inclusion, although this is not required. Recommended students get letters saying they have been nominated, with a quote from the President about the student ambassador program." The nomination process is not exclusive and open to all applicants but admission to the program requires an application and recommendation letters.^[10]

The Student Ambassador Program's literature states that invited students are required to obtain three letters of recommendation.^[11] The application also describes an interview with the student and a series of required meetings prior to the program trip.

From the Eisenhower Presidential Library, a pamphlet on the 1970 People to People Student Ambassador Program indicates that four letters of recommendation used to be required with the application. Qualifications for the 1970 program were described as: "High School Students recommended by the principal or a teacher, who are capable of properly representing and speaking for our country abroad, thus becoming 'Ambassadors,' will be carefully selected through a written application, health examination certificate and personal screening interviews. To qualify you must have a good school record and interest in people and international affairs."^[12] The program has undergone various changes since 1970, generally becoming more open to a wide array of students interested in the People to People international programs and more recent domestic leadership programs.

Several state attorney generals, including those in North Carolina, Minnesota, Virginia, and Washington. Iowa, Florida have file suits or conducted investigation. In the Iowa and Florida cases, the program's operator accidentally sent an invitation to a family's long-deceased child. To address the problem, the operator of the programs modified the invitations and presentations that relate to the "Student Ambassador" travel program. People to People also donated $20,000 to Blank Children's Hospital and $5,000 to the Iowa SIDS Foundation -- charities supported by the family of the child. According to the Iowa Attorney General's news release, the AG did not take issue with the merits of the Student Ambassador trips.^{[6][13][14][15]}

[edit] Academic accreditation

The program has been academically accredited since 2004 through the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. Students can earn academic credit through participation in the Student Ambassador program by paying an additional fee and are also eligible to earn service learning credits after completing course requirements. While not all institutions grant credit, universities recognizing academic credit include Stanford University, Princeton University, Yale University, MIT, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and Georgetown University. Between 1980 and 2006, program participants received more than 41,300 high school and college credits at various universities and secondary education institutions. ^[7]

[edit] Better Business Bureau

Ambassador Programs, Inc., which operates the Student Ambassador programs, has been Better Business Bureau accredited since 1982. Despite 25 registered consumer complaints, the company has a BBB rating of A. To achieve an A rating on a scale of A to F, an entity must have a total score of 94 to 96.99. The Better Business Bureau is evaluating the safety of the trips administered by the group. They note that in addition to teacher recommendations, alumni nominations, and self recommendations, the group uses "national academic and athletic mailing lists". ^[16]

[edit] Program management

After the People to People initiative was launched by President Eisenhower, a non-profit organization called People to People International was founded by President Eisenhower's friend, Joyce Hall, and Walt Disney, among others[1]. People to People International has granted a non-exclusive license to operate student programs under the People to People Student Ambassador Program name to Ambassadors Group, Inc. a for-profit company with the stock market symbol EPAX.^[1] It should be noted, however, that in spite of the non-exclusive arrangement with AGI, there is no other organization that is involved with operating People to People programs.

People to People International is not involved with the marketing, booking, or supervision of the programs. All work overseeing the program is done by Ambassadors Group, Inc.

[edit] 2008/2009 Program Fees

The most inexpensive trip in 2008/2009 is London to Paris, 14 days, $4999.00. The most expensive trip in 2008/2009 is to Antarctica, 14 days, $9800.00. Average price for most other trips is approximately $6500.00 and range from 9 to 23 days in duration.^{[citation needed] [17]}

Additional fees include: $245.00 for basic insurance, domestic airfare to the departure city (varies according to location), Passport/Visa and personal expenses.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Hill Family Lawsuit

According to a 2008 wrongful death lawsuit ^[18], on June 29, 2007 a diabetic 16 year old participant on a trip to Tokyo was denied medical treatment by the delegation leaders on the trip and later died after being left alone. According to the allegations, the student's diabetes was well managed normally and Hill had previously participated in scuba diving and other athletic activities. Master Hill became ill after eating tainted food and participating in an unsupervised trip to a hot springs. After vomiting blood and fainting, the student hiked Mount Fuji with his group. The student requested medical treatment, but was told to "work through it" and was given water. He was left alone in his room over night, vomited and was not given medical attention until his group leader discovered him unconscious in his hotel room at 6pm the next evening. Hill died 2 days later at a Red Cross Medical Center.^{[19] [20]}

In addition to the allegations of wrongful death, the suit alleges to privacy violations regarding the groups methods of accessing the family's private medical records and misleading advertising.^{[21] [22]} According to press reports, over the course of the lawsuit the company has attempted via the courts to keep materials related to the lawsuit from becoming public ^[23]. Following the Hill suit, another family has filed suit making similar allegations regarding a non-fatal health issue on a trip to Australia ^[24].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• People to People International
• Official website of the People to People Student Ambassador Alumni
• Eisenhower Library archives on People to People program