Kierra Baker sat anxiously, waiting for her results of where she was going to end up for this summer as part of the new American Exchange Project at Morgan. The seats were motionless on the auditorium stage while she held out her letter of location.
On March 7th, the official American exchange opening of placements was held at The Morgan school with 10 students and an audience of students, families, and teachers.
The American Exchange Program is the first free paid for domestic youth exchange program that allows students to travel to other states in the country, with the hopes of bringing the country together. The goal of this program is to get students out of their shell/bubble to help them gain a better understanding about the world around them.
As the 10 seniors opened their letters that Friday, they were learning where they would end up for two weeks in the summer.
The Founders:
David McCullough III and Paul Solman founded the program in 2019 and officially launched it in 2021 as a pilot program. They started with 11 teens from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Palo Alto, California; and had them travel to Kilgore, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
McCullough created the program to address the growing polarization in the United States, and have high school graduate students sent to different communities vastly different from their own in hopes it can foster an understanding and empathy across diverse backgrounds through first-hand experience.
How it got to Morgan:
The case manager for the program at Morgan, Mr. Bergman, who started the program, believes that this trip will help shape the students’ futures.
“The American Exchange Project is an incredible opportunity for graduating seniors to step beyond their hometowns, experience new perspectives, and build lifelong connections. By immersing themselves in different communities across the country, they gain a deeper understanding of America’s diversity, develop essential life skills, and foster a sense of unity that will shape their futures. It’s a transformative adventure.”
Students from 54 high schools in 32 states, in total, are currently part of the program in 2025. Some states included in the program are California, Colorado, Mississippi, Georgia, New York and New Hampshire. This program is hoping to aim at getting about a million students involved by 2030.
“Over the summer, I read a book by Jonathan Height called the Anxious generation,” said Bergman. “And one solution he recommended was the American Exchange Project. As far as the program goes, [to get things started] I took it to Mrs. Hagness, obviously, Hagness gave full approval.”
From there, it was a full go for the program to happen. The students were filled with excitement as they saw this new opportunity shown in the hallways, advertising for a fun program they never even knew about.
What the students will experience:
Kierra, along with the 10 other Morgan participants, will be spending a week of their summer learning about something new, meeting new people from different backgrounds, and figuring out their way around a new place.
The program is paid for by hundreds of donors from around the world and with each of the partnering towns who care deeply about bringing everyone together. Everything is free: airfare, meals, housing, local transportation, and fees for events and activities.
When there, students will expect to receive an itinerary of all the events planned. The students will participate in local activities with other fellow travelers from across America. The itinerary will fit these categories: cultural immersion, community events, professional development, and volunteer/service to gain exposure to local issues. That being said, each itinerary can be unique in its own way.
In order to make this trip fully possible, though, Bergman and the seniors had to find host families to house, transport and help provide a sense of what the Clinton community is like. Students from Morgan and their case manager, Mr. Bergman, reached out to the town to see if anyone was available to host students in the program. It did take some time to finally get numbers; it was a bit of a challenge since it is the first time officially participating in the American Exchange program.
Bergman was eventually able to find all the host families needed so that the students of Morgan could travel to their location. That is one of the biggest parts of the program. 10 students from Morgan will travel to their location, and then 10 students from any state in the country will come to Clinton. Then, the host families will help during the week of July 2-9th this summer.
When thinking about the future for the AEP program at Morgan, Bergman has some goals and ideas for the upcoming year.
“I think my goal was to get six, and now we’ve got 10 kids traveling. I think it’s wonderful. My goal next year is to get up to 25 [students]. Mr. DiStefano said he’d like to get involved as well. Possibly someone from the guidance Department, Mr. Grasso [also mentioned he would like to get involved with it next year].”
These are the locations that were given to each student:
Ivana Abarca: Wilmar, Minnesota
Aleia Aleman: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jon Allen: Kilgore, Texas
Kierra Baker: Jasper, Texas
Robert Bergman: Anchorage, Alaska
Ariana Farr: Arvada, Colorado
Nina Fishman: Jasper, Texas
Hunter Mancini: Lincoln, Nebraska
Katie Nguyen: Little Rock, Arkansas
Tess Vallas: Little Rock, Arkansas
Back to the day of the event:
On March 7th, students received merchandise from the program as they entered the Morgan auditorium after school. Students received a t-shirt, socks, water bottle, bucket hat, and a tote bag to help with their travels coming up.
Many host families that live in the town of Clinton were there at the event to see the students get their placement. Students came up to the stage and found their seats with their labeled tote bags that had a notecard with their names attached to it. Once all students were seated, Mr. Bergman started his speech about the program and what the students would be experiencing on their trip ahead, and how he is looking forward to all students’ reactions to their placements.
Once Bergman finished, he handed the microphone off to Ivana Abarca to announce her location. The microphone was handed down, one by one, as students read off their destination. And then it hit Kierra Baker. She didn’t know it yet, but she was going to pick a warm southern location. She opened up her slip and took a breath. Kierra was going to Jasper, Texas. It was finally coming true.
“On this trip, I hope to meet new people [get to know them and establish new connections], and get to know the town I am staying in. Since I am staying in Texas, it’s going to be a whole new experience and a complete difference from Connecticut,” said Kierra.
After all the seniors went down the line and announced their placements, photos were then taken. They then all celebrated in excitement now knowing where they were going to head off to this summer.
