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Up To Date

Kansas students travel the country to build social bridges with people from different backgrounds

By Steve Kraske,
Elizabeth Ruiz
Published November 27, 2023 at 5:45 PM CST
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The American Exchange Project takes high school seniors to different parts of the country, including Dodge City, Ks., to experience different cultural, political and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Karlie DeFord
The American Exchange Project takes high school seniors to different parts of the country, including Dodge City, Kansas.

Kansas high school students are taking part in an exchange program that doesn't send them to a foreign country but instead sends them to a "foreign" town in the U.S., somewhere different from where they've grown up.

High school students in Lawrence and Dodge City, Kansas, have purposefully spent time building relationships with people from politically, culturally or socioeconomically different backgrounds.

Through the American Exchange Project, students spend one week in an unfamiliar town after graduation and also spend a week hosting incoming student participants.

"The whole idea is to learn a little bit more about people who share this country with us who are very different from us," said David McCullough III, the CEO and co-founder of the American Exchange Project.

  • David McCullough III, CEO and co-founder, American Exchange Project
  • Karlie DeFord, participant, American Exchange Project
  • Esai Valverde Estralla, participant, American Exchange Project
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Up To Date PodcastschoolpoliticscultureKansas
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Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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Elizabeth Ruiz
When you listen to Up To Date, I want you to understand decisions being made in the city, feel inspired by community members, and empathize with people who've had different experiences. As an Up To Date producer, I connect you to the news through conversations with community members and elected officials. Contact me at elizabeth@kcur.org or on Twitter at @er_bentley_ruiz.
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