RUHS Student Is Fundraising For People-to-People Trip
By Martha Slater

RUHS junior Elizabeth Douville of Braintree is very excited about being invited to participate in a 19-day trip to Australia and New Zealand as part of the People to People Ambassador Program.

Douville, who expects to leave in early July, is looking for sponsors who would be willing to make a financial donation to help her cover the cost of tuition. She has to raise another $4,500 on top of the $3,000 she has already raised and is hoping to hold a bottle drive. She has also gotten a job at the East Garden Chinese restaurant in Randolph to earn money for the trip.

Recently adopted by Ralph and Joan Cook, Douville (who is keeping her original last name) learned about the People-to-People program when she received an invitation in the mail last spring, and then checked out an online informational web site set up for students from the New England. As part of the application process, she went through an interview and finally received a phone call in September telling her she had been chosen.

Douville notes that the People to People Ambassador Program was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, "because he believed the best ambassadors were kids."

There will be 30-40 students and three or four adults in her trip group, and the adults will be teachers from the New England area. The students can earn college credits for their experiences on the trip, which will take them to Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch, and Methven in New Zealand, and then on to Brisbane, South Stradbroke Island, Sydney, and Cairns in Australia.

"I’m really looking forward to going to Australia and New Zealand," Douville said. "The only other country I’ve been to is Canada, when I went on a French class trip to Quebec when I was in eighth grade." She is currently seeing if a career in the health field is for her by taking part in the health careers program at RTCC, while also carrying a full academic load at RUHS.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to Douville’s trip fund may mail a check to her at 645 Mud Pond Road, Braintree, Vt. 05060.

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