Students in the College Ambitions Start Today (CAST) program at Faribault High School recently participated in a video exchange with students from Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. This exchange was set up by former CCCE education fellow Porter Truax ’16, who currently teaches English at a school in Réunion. As an education fellow, he coordinated programs at Faribault High School, including CAST. When he began teaching at Réunion earlier this year, Porter reached out to current staff about setting up an exchange between his students and students in CAST.
Students at Faribault initiated the conversation by writing letters to Porter’s students, who then responded via personalized videos. Faribault students watched the video responses with excitement and anticipation for the next exchange. They then took on the task of making their own videos in response, many of them opting to give the students in Réunion a tour of their favorite places at Faribault High School. Others performed lively skits.
CAST revolves around programming aimed at promoting college accessibility, including lesson plans on college and scholarship applications, interview techniques, and resume building. Though parting from the usual curriculum, the video exchange resulted in a fun opportunity for students to reflect on their time in CAST and share their experiences with students their own age.