Category: Features

Peanut butter; an average food in America. Yet, for Spanish foreign exchange student Bea Jimenez-Carles ’16, peanut butter is one of many new things she is excited to try while studying abroad.

Jimenez-Carles is one of three students coming from the Aquinas American School of Madrid. Álvaro Garde ’15 and Beltrán Carrillo ’17 are, as well, staying for a semester.

Last year Mr. George Weigel, biographer for John Paul II, visited the Aquinas American School of Madrid. The school informed him that they were interested in launching an international studies program in the United States. Having previously visited Providence Academy as a speaker, Weigel thought PA would be a good fit for the Aquinas American School.

Fast forward to fall of 2013, and Weigel’s suggestion is now reality.

In addition too the Aquinas American School students, PA will host Paula Horeno ’16 for a full year.

Horeno is from Spain, but is not affiliated with the Aquinas American School.

According to the Chair for the Department of World Languages, Mrs. Joelynn Lahr, “Paula’s mom and Mrs. Patnode were really good friends” and, as a result, the Patnode family will be hosting Horeno during her stay.

Each student has different aspirations for their visit, but all wish to improve their English.

Garde is staying with the Ritz family, and hopes to “meet new people.” He is planning on playing soccer for the boys soccer team.

Jimenez-Carles is looking forward to “learning a lot of things and making new friends.” She is staying with the Yelich family.

Carrillo finds Providence Academy to be “very big” and thinks it’s interesting that there are “soccer places, and football places, and basketball places.” He will be staying with the Perinovic family.

While Providence will only be receiving students from the Aquinas school this year, in the future, the school hopes to expand the program.

“In the next few years we hope to send students over to Spain,” stated Mrs. Lahr.

During the students’ time in America, Mrs. Lahr hopes they can gain “A deeper understanding of American culture, the culture in our school, and the foundation of faith that we live in and out of school.”

Anna Clipperton ’14 spent the majority of this summer in the British Virgin Islands as an intern for SeaTrek, a scuba diving, sailing, and marine science summer program for middle and high school students. The trip, which lasted seven and a half weeks, was packed full of hiking, diving, sailing, snorkeling, nightly science presentations, and much more. Clipperton was one of the staff leaders of the program, after having been a student in the program last summer.

“I loved the program so much last year,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be a staff member this year, because the staff was my favorite part about the voyage when I was a student. They were their own little family and I wanted to be a part of that family.”

As a staff member, Clipperton’s schedule was even more packed than the students’. Each morning she would get up at around 6:30a.m. to make sure breakfast was cooked and morning chores were done before the students got up an hour later. Then she would help lead a hike or a dive before lunch, and then the entire “fleet” would sail to their next destination in the British Virgin Islands. After lunch, the students would have snorkeling time or free time before dinner and a science presentation.

“My favorite memory of my internship was when our fleet went to a place called Diamond Cay,” said Clipperton.

At this island, the fleet glimpsed no less than twelve sea turtles while on a snorkel Clipperton was leading.

“I had seen turtles before but never in that quantity,” she said. “The water was only about 8 feet deep, so we could easily free dive down and be right next to them.”

Clipperton currently plans on turning her back to back summers at SeaTrek into a three year run, returning next year as long as her schedule allows it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfu6Y75tRY&feature=youtu.be