My name is Zach S.  I am 17 years old and a junior at Hampshire High School.  I live with my mother Julie, my brother Jeremy, and my dog Thor.  We happily live in Capon Bridge, living in the house of my parent’s dreams.  We have lived in Hampshire County for about 10 years; we moved here when I was 7.  I have a very loving mother that would do absolutely anything for me.  Although my brother and I don’t always seem to see eye to eye on things, I love him, too. 

I love to play sports, my favorite being football.  I also play basketball and throw the shot-put and discus in track.  This past football season I was named All-State and All-Area.  Not only do I devote my time to athletics, I devote my time to academics.  I am always on the honor roll, and I never settled for less than 4.0.  I am also a member of the HHS Peer Helpers.  I try to keep myself busy, doing whatever it is that interests me, and this trip certainly does interest me.  I pride myself on being able to honestly say that I am a good student, a good person, I don’t do drugs, and I am a leader to my fellow classmates and friends.

I wasn’t fully aware of the Exchange trip until this past year.  I never really gave any thought to what it meant to be able to take a three week trip to a different country.  Well, after my friends came back from the 2004 exchange trip, they made me realize how great of a learning experience it is and how much fun it is.  Not only will this trip open your eyes to a small piece of a vast world, but it will offer you the chance to create forever lasting memories. 

I have always been fascinated with the different cultures throughout the world.  I am fully aware that everything is much different in Europe than in America.  That is one great reason that I would want to go on this trip.  I am a firm believer that there are much better things out there then what Hampshire County has to offer.  I believe that this trip would be an incredible experience, as well as a heck of a good time. 

My late father always loved to travel, and I was able to do a little traveling with him.  Two years ago we went to the Bahamas.  I absolutely loved it!  The people were incredible, and it was a great experience as well as an eye-opener.  When I say eye-opener, I mean that it literally opened my eyes.  We were there for a week, and in a week I learned so much about the Bohemian culture.  I wouldn’t take that experience back for a million dollars!

Although I don’t know any foreign languages, I would be very willing to learn some for this trip.  I also plan on hosting an exchange student.  I would absolutely love to be able to show someone our culture here in America.  We live in a great country, but all countries are great for something.  The two things besides the culture that I would be fascinated with most, would be the scenery and the art.  Both of these things are amazing and definitely worth seeing. 

I could go on and on about why I want to go on this trip and why you should let me.  It is certainly not hard to realize what an incredible opportunity has been laid before me.  I could sum up my desires for being a part of this trip by saying three things:  this is without a doubt the opportunity of a lifetime, this is an incredible learning experience, and this is the perfect chance to broaden my horizon about the vast, incredibly interesting planet we call earth.  I am very thankful for the availability of this trip, and I hope that I will be given the chance to take advantage of this opportunity.  For me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I will not pass this up.