At least five lucky West Coast teens may be winging their way to the United States in September next year as part of the USA East Coast Academic Achievers Tour 2022.
School tour specialists, Travel and Sport, invited the top achievers in Grades 8 to 12 at high schools nationally to join the tour.
Curro Langebaan Grade 9 learners Kallum Isaacs and Ruben Mundell have already paid their deposits and secured their spots but are now fundraising to raise the balance of the money payable by end of July next year.
“I was very lucky. A family friend from Dubai sponsored my deposit. My parents are contributing, but I will also be fundraising throughout the year ahead,” Isaacs said. He is currently the youngest Grade 9 learner at Curro Langebaan at the age of 14, having skipped a grade when he was younger.
After a year in Mauritius, Isaacs’ principal and teacher motivated for him to enter Grade 3 at the age of five, but his parents chose to place him just one year ahead in Grade 1 so there would not be a great age gap with his peers.
Mundell has been a high achiever for years and Curro parents will be familiar with his name, which has featured in the top five learners in his grade year after year. “I have never been abroad before, so this will be a new experience for me and I’m quite excited,” he said. Mundell wants to study computer science and programming when he matriculates while Isaacs has his sights set on medicine.
Two Grade 11 learners from Curro Langebaan hope to join Mundell and Isaacs on the tour – Alexi Frick and Leila Louw. Frick has her South African colours in karate and has previously competed at the World Championship in Ireland, while Louw is the current Junior Youth Mayor for the Saldanha Bay Municipality. Tumisho Letselebe, a Grade 8 learner at Hopefield High, was also selected and will be fundraising over the next year.
The Academic Achievers Tour will cover Boston, New York and Washington with visits to iconic sights including the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial and the United Nations Headquarters. However, the highlight for these academic superstars will no doubt be the visits and guided tours of Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Yale and Princeton Universities.
Last year’s Junior Youth Mayor, Isaiah Mataka of Hopefield High, went on the same tour two years ago. “I have seen Times Square in so many movies, but seeing the real thing was something else. It was spectacular. Travelling without my parents taught me responsibility, especially when it came to not spending all my money. My advice to the kids going is to be open to making new friends and meeting people. You learn a lot sometimes without even realising it,” he said.
You can contribute towards the fundraising efforts by participating in a raffle where all funds raised by each child will go towards their travel costs.
Raffle tickets are R50 each and the prize is a luxury weekend getaway worth R1 000. The draw takes place between 31 October and 4 November next year. To buy tickets: . Neesa Moodley (Isaacs) on 071 482 2175. Marlise Mundell on 076 403 2222. Charlene Frick on 072 151 5225. Liezel Louw on 081 772 7183. Christiana Letselebe on 073 026 9109.
