Windows on America – Orientation for Hector-Peterson School Ambassador William R. Timken. Jr.
Berlin, May 22, 2007.
As prepared for delivery.
Congratulations on being selected to participate in the Windows on America exchange program! You will see two great cities in the U.S.: Washington, DC, our nation’s capital, and New York City, which is America’s leading city in so many other ways. You will have an opportunity none of our other Windows on America groups have had so far. You will get to stay with families in New York City, where you will spend seven days and hopefully really learn more about the city than a private tourist could ever hope to learn.
I would encourage you to make the most of this opportunity. Your host families are looking forward to getting to know you, just as I know you are looking forward to meeting them. Talk with them about your interests. Bring them pictures of your life here in Berlin – I think you’d be surprised at how interested they will be in the things that seem routine or everyday to you.
Windows on America is a fairly new initiative for Mission Germany. So far, thirty young men and women have had the opportunity to experience first-hand school and family life in the U.S. This initiative is a public-private partnership program, which means that it is being funded not by the government, but by German and American companies who want to make sure that German high schoolers from all different backgrounds have the same opportunities to view the world outside of their neighborhoods.
Time and time again, we hear how exchange experiences can change perspectives – and change lives. I recall reading a comment by an American exchange student whose family was not wealthy. She had to work hard to earn the opportunity to participate in a foreign study exchange program in Mexico. This is what she said about her experience: "I learned not to limit my thinking." This is something we would wish for every student, German or American, from every type of family background. We want to encourage you to think big.
We hope that, like the other students who have participated in the program, you will also find this to be an experience you will never forget.
Have a great trip!
