Hands Across the Water - A Cultural Exchange

(September 2007) A college student from Bulgaria (Kesov Petae), three from Moldova (Moraru Pavel, Maizlina Alexandra and Mirzenco Grigore), one from Vietnam (Hoang Xuan Linh), one from Slovakia (Peter Babiak) and one from Turkey (Muhammed Tuncer) spent the summer biking out to work at Splish Splash, Tanger (Nike) or over to McDonalds. These young people were experiencing a summer in America through a program that promised them a job when they arrived.

Not long after they made their way to Riverhead, they realized that the transit that was available wasn't going to meet their needs and they needed a way of getting around and a place to access their email accounts. They received assistance from the librarians at the Riverhead Free Library, who gave them access codes so they could use the library's computers. Liz Stokes, who works at the library and is also the Chairperson of the Parent/Community Council for Unity Partnership, assisted them as well. The visitors were given bikes by residents who had bikes they weren't using or they repaired bikes from those they found in yard sales or the trash.

Before these young people returned home, Ms. Stokes and Theresa Drozd, the K-12 Violence Prevention Director for the Riverhead Schools, invited the visitors to share their cultural perspective with the students in the Council for Unity classes at Riverhead High School. The program was dubbed "Hands Across the Water--A Cultural Exchange."

"One of our goals for our students this year was to introduce them to people from different cultures. This was a perfect opportunity to begin that process," stated Ms. Stokes.

The seven young people told the RHS students about their country and customs and answered questions about their perceptions of the United States.

"I came to improve my English," explained Muhammed Trancer, who hails from Turkey and worked at McDonalds. "I felt like I worked really hard for my money, and, of course, I had to pay my way over to the United States. Everyone has been very kind and I've enjoyed myself, but I wasn't able to save much money. I just wanted to save enough to buy a laptop computer before I go back to college." Trancer is studying engineering in college and plans to travel to Boston to see Harvard University before returning to Turkey.

Hoan Xuan Linh said, "I am going to college in Slovakia. I think the schools in the United States are among the best, and I came to improve my English." He, too, planned to buy a computer before he returned to college in Slovakia.

After their conversations with the RHS students, Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale awarded them certificates from the Town of Riverhead. Following the classes, the young people toured the high school, and met with RHS Principal David Zimbler, Yurema Torres, the Director of the Adult and Family Partnership Program of the Council for Unity, Alex W. Bryan, who is the Advisor for the Riverhead Correctional Facility's Council for Unity, Donna Lyzckowski, the Director of the Riverhead Town Youth Bureau and Beth Maccagli from the Juvenile Aid Bureau.

"There are branches of the Council for Unity in Turkey and in other countries," explained Theresa Drozd. "We want our Council members to meet people from other cultures in an effort to breakdown barriers between people from other cultures and countries. This was a great first step."

Mrs. Connie Gevinski, the District's School to Career Coordinator and the advisor for Interact, an extension of the Rotary, also greeted the young visitors. "I'm visiting classes this week to encourage our students to consider studying in other countries as part of the Rotary's student exchange program," explained Mrs. Gevinski. "It's important for our students to start thinking about careers from a global perspective and to embrace the study of a foreign language, so I was glad to hear about the Council for Unity's efforts."

Photo caption: People who care about kids (and are associated with the Council for Unity) with young people from other countries, who lived and worked in the Riverhead area over the summer, met with Council for Unity classes at RHS in a program dubbed "Hands Across the Water--A Cultural Exchange." (L-R) Donna Lyzckowski, the Director of the Riverhead Town Youth Bureau, Beth Maccagli from the Juvenile Aid Bureau (behind Donna), Liz Stokes, the Chairperson of the Parent/Community Council for Unity Partnership, Moraru Pavel (Moldova), Kesov Petae (Bulgaria), Hoang Xuan Linh (Vietnam), Mirzenco Grigore (Moldova), Maizlina Alexandra (Moldova), Babiak Peter (Slovakia), Muhammed Tuncer (Turkey), Alex W. Bryan, Advisor for the Riverhead Correctional Facility's Council for Unity, Theresa Drozd, RCSD K-12 Violence Prevention Director.

Related Note: The Riverhead Free Library is creating a NEW Teen Department.

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