Five FHS students - seniors Kent Kraemer, Alee Scarburry, Elizabeth Cummings, Kathy Curtis, and junior Suzanne Smith - have been accepted to Up With People, a program that gives young people a chance to travel, perform and learn about different cultures around the world.
"Hopefully, when I'm older, I'll be traveling all over the world and living and learning different cultures," said Kraemer, who was accepted to the January 1998 tour. "Up With People will help me relate to other humans who don't speak my language."
Students interested in the program were interviewed in November. The interviews were relaxed, said Scarburry. Most questions centered around what the students love to do.
"I knew going into the interview that the acceptance rates for American girls was very low and so I pretty much prepared myself to be rejected," said Cummings. "My mom brought in a big envelope from Up With People and my heart stopped for a second because I knew I had been accepted."
There will rarely be a day when participants will not be doing a show, and Up With People members perform community service in each town they visit. This emphasis on community service was an attraction for Scarburry.
"It strongly stresses community service," said Scarburry, who was accepted to the January 1998 tour. "It has such a powerful message of peace and unity."
Once students completing the training in Denver, they will be split into three teams and leave to tour 12 countries around the world, including the U.S., Switzerland and Portugal.
None of the students will know exactly where they will go until their tour starts.
The program costs a total of $13,200 per member, which may limit some of the students from participating, but they hope to raise the money through projects such as raffles or sponsors.
"Being with so many people that speak so many different languages," will be the most rewarding thing about Up With People for junior Suzanne Smith, who was accepted to the July 1998 tour. "It will enrich my view on the world."
"I think the best thing about it (Up With People) is it puts young adults in cross-cultural situations," said Kalispell resident Sissy Booth, who was actively involved in Up With People for more than a decade. "The whole thing provides a lot of personal growth."