Mar 6, 2003 By Bill Cahn For The 4 min read

When Laurel Highlands High School students Katie Molchan and Stacy Stamm fly to Europe this summer as part of a six-nation tour to engage young people from different cultures, they will be living out a dream. But not merely their own. The vision started with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. He believed that if youths from different cultures came together in friendship, eventually nations would follow.

President Eisenhower began a program called People to People, which annually sends scores of Student Ambassadors to selected nations to promote world peace.

Eisenhower became president during a period of increasing world tension, as the possibility of a nuclear nightmare became real. He believed that ordinary citizens of different nations, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a peaceable way to live.

The selections of Stamm and Molchan as Student Ambassadors for the People to People program was also part of a vision for whomever nominated them. The problem is, in accordance with program policy, their identities will forever remain a mystery to Stamm and Molchan.

“I could guess who it may have been who nominated me,” said Molchan. “But, truthfully, I have no real idea who it was. It’s kind of fun not knowing.

Their departure to Europe will begin this June.

As part of a group of 40 Pittsburgh-area teens, they will travel to England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

They are asked to keep a journal for the entire trip, and are preparing for the experience by reading about the culture and history of each country they will be visiting.

The selection process was a new experience for high school sophomore Molchan, who feels more at home on a ski slope than in front of a panel of interviewers.

The candidates went to Pittsburgh for a group question-and-answer session, where they were measured for the maturity necessary to meet the demands of traveling abroad.

“They asked some tough questions, mostly to see how we would react in stressful situations,” Molchan said.

“For instance, they wanted to know how I would handle it if our luggage was somehow lost in the airport.

“They were looking for someone who was flexible enough to stay calm if the schedule suddenly was changed. And I am definitely a low-key person.”

“There were six to eight kids in the room while we were being interviewed,” said Stamm, also a sophomore at Laurel Highlands High School.

Stacy’s mother, Samantha Stamm said, ” I’m just excited for the girls. I feel this is an opportunity of a lifetime, one that I could personally never give my daughter. I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement, and I’m thankful to all the people who helped make this happen.”

Katie’s mother, Deborah Molchan, feels likewise. “I am extremely excited for Katie, although I am a little nervous with all the post 9/11 threats. The good news is that with all that has happened in the world since then, a peaceful, uniting program like this hasn’t been forced to stop. I’m hoping that someday they develop a local People to People chapter in Fayette County, so many local kids who haven’t even been out of the state can experience what these kids will see.”

In order to have the student participants appreciate the cost of traveling abroad, the organizers asked each to raise some of the money for the trip.

“We did a raffle that raised $1,000,” said Deborah Molchan. “And we are planning a spaghetti dinner at Trinity United Presbyterian Church the evening of (Saturday) March 8 that will go towards Katie’s expenses.”

Both students are as surprised as anyone that they are suddenly playing parts in Eisenhower’s 50-year old dream. Staci Stamm said she saw the letter announcing that she was nominated for the program last September, and almost threw it away.

“I thought it was junk mail,” she said. “Then I realized what it was, and that not many people get this opportunity. Now I can’t wait to go.”

The students were selected partly due to their good grades, maturity and involvement in community and school activities.

Molchan is a member of the school ski club, the math club, is actively involved in the Pine Springs Camp retreat program and is in a youth group at Faith Assembly of God Church.

She enjoys sailing, backpacking and windsurfing. She also works part-time for her uncle, Jake Shape, at the Colorworks paint store in Uniontown.

Stamm is an honor student. She is on the LH swim team and a member of the Interact and ski clubs. She is also a brown belt in karate. She works part-time at Becker’s Shadyside Inn as a server. Her greatest love is cooking.

“They would like us to exchange recipes with our host families,” she said.

“I’m planning on treating them to my coconut bon-bons.”