The Dana Point Sister Cities International and the Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary of Dana Point are broadening the horizons of two Dana Hills High School students with an exchange program with Sorrento, Italy, this summer. After numerous applications from the school’s pen pal program, Ilyse Stein and Laia Owens were selected to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“These students will be going to represent our organizations and Dana Point in June 2025,” said Dana Point Sister Cities President Robert Zasa. “Their Sorrento pen pals will come to Dana Point this summer as well for the student exchange to experience multiple educational, cultural, and fun experiences with their host families.
“DP Sister Cities and Rotary continue to offer this unique experience to Dana Point teenagers to help increase their awareness of cultural differences and to promote better understanding of different countries and their citizens. This program follows the principles of Sister Cities International and Rotary of promoting peace in the world by developing personal one-on-one relationships between different nations and their citizens of the world.”
With the program in the early stages of being officially labeled a “sister city,” the hope is that exchanging students from two cities in two countries will continue to foster a strong relationship between them. Student exchanges, which began as a pen pal program, have been a significant part of the program, helping to build connections between Dana Point and Sorrento. The first exchange occurred in early summer last year, when Dana Point sent its first two students from Dana Hills High School abroad.
The organization again received a handful of applications from students and their parents, with recommendations from teachers who believe that this trip would be beneficial for all involved. Some of the criteria that needed to be considered included grades and the reasons for wanting this opportunity.
“ We wanted students who were usually really like the juniors with good overall grades,” Zasa said. “We look at what interests them and how they articulate that through the application. We don’t want anyone who just wants to go on vacation; we’re looking for someone who really wants to learn and has a particular interest in travel and exploring different cultures.”
For the students, this was a task that required them to look within themselves to understand why this trip would mean gaining a crucial perspective on life and connecting with another culture.
“ It’s a lot, but looking at the whole picture of this, it’s an honor and responsibility to represent Dana Point, and I’m excited to be a part of something that not only strengthens international friendship, but it’s also an honor to be a respectful ambassador of sharing the city culture while embracing openness and curiosity,” Stein said.
“The process of applying was a lot of thinking about why I wanted to do this and understanding what I would gain from this experience. I knew my goal was to enter this program, and I understood my interest. I thoroughly reviewed the entire application, answering the question of why, which made me think about what I could contribute and learn from this exchange.”
Once these two students were chosen, the joint committee began planning the itinerary to ensure they could make the most of the two-week time frame in their journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
“ We put together a sample itinerary that actually was done last year with the international relations person in Sorrento, who handles all the international Sister cities,” Zasa said. “ We focus a lot on the history of Sorrento with guided tours of different key landmarks there. The two will visit the mozzarella factory, a farm where they will see the cows and learn about the process of making and distributing mozzarella, as well as its economics. They will also have the opportunity to visit a ceramic factory and the Amalfi Coast, including a trip to Pompeii to explore the area’s history and learn more about its rich culture.
“This is, overall, an educational experience. But their host parents also do special things with them, including taking them to the beach and around locally to see what life is like. They will have the chance to meet some of the other teenagers, 18 or so of the other pen pals that are part of the Sorrento high school.”
For Owens and Stein, this trip is not being taken lightly, and they hope to return home with a deeper understanding of the world around them.
“ I hope to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like for young people and kids outside of the U.S. and hopefully broaden my perspective and immerse myself in a culture that’s so rich in history and tradition,” Owens said.
“I believe that traveling abroad will foster empathy and a global mindset, and I’m excited to bring that back with me to Dana Point. I’m also really excited to experience Italian food, especially the home-cooked meals; everyone raves about them when they go to Italy.”
“It is honestly so amazing to think that I’m doing this in high school, because when you really think of cultural exchange, you think of something you do in college with friends,” Stein said. “But doing it in high school is not only preparing me for the next step of my future, but it’s also something to say, ‘Oh, my God, I went to study in Italy for a summer,’ and I was able to bring back what I learned from a different country to my community and how can I now incorporate this in my community with a fantastic tradition that I learned in Italy.”
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