Kids & Family

Babylon Ninth-Grader Raising Money for Student Ambassador Trip

People To People Ambassador trip to Pacific will cost student over $8,000 without local help.

A Babylon Junior-Senior High Schooler is raising money to help pay his way to represent our area as a student ambassador next summer in the Pacific island of Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

Thomas May, a ninth-grader at the high school, is headed to Fiji next summer as part of the People to People Student Ambassador Educational Program to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The 22-day trip was founded in 1956 by former United States President Dwight Eisenhower. 

The trip, however, will end up costing May and his family over $8,000 without some outside help, he noted on a campaign page on GoFundMe. As of Thursday morning, May had raised over $700, or roughly 17 percent of his goal.

"I am looking forward to learning about architecture, art, conservation, geology, history, oceanography, and political science," May wrote on the page. "I will have an opportunity to participate in two service projects, a reforestation project in a critically endangered Fijian forest and a scone making service project, sharing them with senior citizens in Australia. I also will be spending a day at a Fijian school and will live with a family in New Zealand for three days."

He added: "There is no better way to make connections with real people in different cultures than to immerse yourself in their daily life."

While his mother, Sherri, has agreed to help pay for half of the estimate $8,724 trip to the Pacific, May is continuing to find other ways to fund his way to a trip of a lifetime.

"I plan on trying to pay my way by raking leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in the winter in addition to raising money through Go Fund Me," he wrote. "Any donation amount would be most appreciated (no amount is too small) to help me reach my goal for my future education."

Anyone interested in help Thomas make his way on the Ambassador tour can donate via his page on GoFundMe.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here