STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Sam Reiss
RP Alum Hometown: Los Angeles, California 2011 Program: Tribal Issues While traveling with us throughout Southeast Asia, Sam interviewed many young men and women who had been marginalized by their governments and a variety of other societal and cultural factors. Through these conversations he noticed that a strong grasp of the English language opened up many well-paying job opportunities to Southeast Asian youth, that were otherwise unavailable. “I started to see the utmost necesity of fostering a young population that has an understanding of and compassion for the other ways of being.� Upon his return home, Sam founded X-Change the World, an online educational platform that brings English speaking skills - and other educational opportunities - to youth across the world. X-Change the World now connects Burmese refugees in Northern Thailand, students in Kenya, Laos, and Vietnam, with students from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles, and St. Albans Academy in Washington, D.C.
Paloma Palmer
RP Alum Hometown: San Francisco, California 2013 Program: Village School Service in the Fiji Islands After traveling to the Highlands of Fiji during the summer of 2013 and working with the community to build an additional classroom at the newly established Nasivikoso Village School, Paloma wanted to continue to support the Fijian students she met. She launched an online fundraiser and made t-shirts to sell at her school. Since starting the project, she has raised more than $2,500 which will be used to purchase desks and chairs for the new classroom. Paloma also plans to return to Nasivikoso in 2014 to visit friends in the village and continue to support this project.
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