
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708270234

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  115 lines

SUMMER ADVENTURESTHREE SUFFOLK STUDENTS SKIPPED THE USUAL OUT-OF-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, PREFERRING TO TRAVEL TO EXOTIC PLACES TO WORK AND LEARN.

WHAT DID YOU do on your summer vacation?

Armed with stacks of snapshots and dozens of stories about unfamiliar cultures and new friends, Tommy Fink, Ashley Gunter, and Leigh-Ann Phelps are eager and ready for the question.

When the school year ended in June the trio of young adventurers sought a summer of more than part time jobs, beach days, and hanging out with their friends. Their quest for adventure and new experiences sent the three flying in different directions - to Hawaii, Zimbabwe, and the caves of Oregon.

During the last 30 years more than 75,000 young Americans have traveled to 25 different countries as participants in the People to People Student Ambassador program.

In July Leigh-Ann, 11, joined 30 sixth-grade student ambassadors for two weeks in Hawaii packed with educational and fun activities. From coral reef snorkeling to learning about ancient Polynesian astronomy, Leigh-Ann took an intensive look at the history and modern daily life of a culture far removed from her Suffolk home.

Well, maybe not too far removed. ``Downtown Hilo looked just like downtown Suffolk,'' she said, surprised to find that Hawaii was not all beaches and palm trees.

Leigh-Ann had attended school in Windsor until last year when her family moved to Suffolk and she began a home schooling program. ``This trip was the first time I had been away from the family for so long,'' she said.

Homesickness struck the first day and worsened when her dorm room at the University of Hawaii was invaded by ants. But a few calls home to Mom and a spray can of insecticide soon had her confidence back in place.

Because the People to People Student Ambassador program is a private program, students have to pay their own way. In Leigh-Ann's case that meant raising about $3,000 by selling candy, cards, and jewelry as well as seeking donations from local civic clubs. ``I was worried about the fund raising but I was surprised at how successful it was,'' she said.

Her next travel goal is Australia, not too surprising for a young woman whose childhood career dream was to be an elephant girl in the circus.

``But I am not ready to leave home again too soon,'' she said.

July Fourth in London, England, sparked Ashley's only pangs of homesickness. She knew that back home in Suffolk her family was gathering to watch fireworks and celebrate the Independence Day holiday.

``In London, it was a day like any other day,'' she said.

Life was extraordinary during the rest of her trip, however, as Ashley, and 40 other musicians in the Voices of Youth program, sang their way through the countryside around Mutare and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Ashley, 17, was the only Suffolk representative in the choir, sponsored by the United Methodist Church's Virginia Council on Youth Ministry.

She is a rising senior at Lakeland High School with plans for a career in the medical field. She is also a member of Main Street United Methodist Church.

Ashley found the capital city of Harare not too different from Norfolk.

``Lots of big tall buildings and lots of banks,'' she said.

A more tropical landscape with tile roofed stucco houses and round hut like homes surrounded Africa University where the choir lived in dormitories and ate in the college dining hall.

``We ate a lot of rice, noodles, vegetables, and meat I couldn't identify,'' she said.

Although the choir's main mission was singing - presenting concerts for local churches - the teens also took time to clear rocks, brush, and other debris from a building site where a new parsonage was to be built.

Getting out into the communities and meeting local families and children was the highlight of the trip.

``Going there I didn't know what to expect and I didn't realize how big the Methodist Church is there,'' she said. ``I thought we would be sharing more of our religion, but they have a very strong faith.''

Halfway around the world, Tommy was shimmying through narrow underground crevices, crawling through 35-degree water in total darkness, and dodging 400-pound runaway boulders.

He, with four other students, spent two weeks mapping caves in Oregon on a grant from the Earthwatch Foundation. Only two students from each state earn summer grants from the foundation and can choose from wide variety of projects.

``At first I wanted to work on the coral reefs in Australia but my scholarship was for only $500 and that was a much more expensive trip than going to Oregon,'' he said. ``After I realized that I would be working in Oregon with the nation's leading cave mapper I really got excited about that.''

Shorts and a surf board are more familiar summer gear for Tommy, 18, than overalls and a battery pack but after his experience he can talk for hours about the thrill of discovering a never before explored system of caves, the drudgery of moving 23 tons of rubble from a dynamited cave entrance, and the fascination of underground rock formations.

Tommy, 18, graduated from Nansemond River High School in June. He will attend Old Dominion University to major in oceanography and hopes to get to that Australian coral reef next summer.

Living for two weeks with students, geologists, and research scientists from the West Coast and Midwest left Tommy with one minor twinge of home sickness.

``Here I was, a southern boy hanging in Oregon and I was sick of hearing ``you guys'' rather than ``y'all,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo courtesy of ASHLEY GUNTER

Ashley Gunter, 17, performed with the Voices of Youth program in the

countryside around Mutare and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Photo courtesy of TOMMY FINK

Tommy Fink, 18, and four other students, spent two weeks mapping

caves in Oregon on a grant from the Earthwatch Foundation. Only two

students from each state earn summer grants from the foundation

and can choose from wide variety of projects.

Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER

Leigh-Ann Phelps, 11, joined 30 sixth-grade student ambassadors for

two weeks in Hawaii packed with educational and fun activities.

Leigh-Ann took an intensive look at the history and modern daily

life of Polynesian culture, including learning about ancient