Cultural Exchange & Travel Club

by: Amanda Carmel & Joseph Cassineri

History teacher John Sand is known for his love of travel. He’s ventured with students to destinations like Costa Rica and Belize, just to name a few. With his 2021 trip yet to be planned, Mr. Sand and two students have joined forces to form the new Cultural Exchange and Travel Club, with heavy emphasis on the cultural exchange part. 

“We’re interested in cultural exchanges—we’re interested in when we go abroad, meeting with kids from other countries, and exchanging cultures that way,” Mr. Sand said. 

Sand helped organize the club to gain input from students on, as Sand puts it,  “where they want to go, and what they want to do.” 

The direct input of the student body is something he hopes will drive future trips tailored to the passions of a group of students, whether it be traveling for fun, to see history, or to make a difference in the world community. Sand is perhaps one of the biggest proponents of travel in our WHS community, and we asked why he believes it’s so important. 

“It increases your understanding that there’s a great big world out there, other than out little old Wethersfield High School” he said, “It promotes cultural awareness, so that you understand and appreciate the differences in people, rather than being ignorant to them.”

Beyond traveling the globe, Sand mentioned his interest in experiencing other cultures locally.

“We have different cultures here at our high school, there’s other cultures at other high schools. Its kinda cool to meet each other and find some common ground.”

The club will meet once a month in room 112. If you want to have a say in our school’s trips, or even venture outward yourself, “Sign up today! Put your name on the list and then we’ll email you and keep you in the loop.”




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