U.S. Soldiers Stationed in Iraq Support Student Ambassador
When Paul Stovall, an Army National Guard sergeant serving in Iraq,
called his family in Michigan on Thanksgiving, his 15-year-old cousin
Katelyn told him about her People to People Student Ambassador program
to Australia.
After Sgt. Stovall learned that Katelyn was raising funds for her
journey this summer, he promised to send her $100 toward her
fund-raising campaign and mentioned that he would ask his army buddies
for donations. Troops from Sgt. Stovall’s outfit responded generously to
his request for help. He ended up receiving contributions from 67 other
soldiers; everyone from the company commander on down donated.
Katelyn was astonished to see a check from her cousin for $1,000 arrive
in the mail. “I screamed,” she said. “I was very happy and surprised.”
Sgt. Stovall was also amazed by the amount, “I had no idea that I would
be able to collect that much. I was expecting around $250 or so.”
Katelyn can’t wait for her journey and is particularly looking forward
to her home stay. “I'm really excited about staying with a real
Australian family and seeing what their lives are like on a daily
basis.”
She continues to work hard raising funds for her People to People
adventure by selling coupon booklets, collecting pop cans and getting
ready for a big garage/bake sale.
