Most teachers use their summer vacation to take some time away from students. However, this wasn't the case for Towles New Tech Middle School teacher Carissa Richardson. She spent her summer traveling all over Europe with 40 students.
Richardson spent time in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom in the People to People Ambassador Program. The program was founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower, with the notion that peace comes through traveling abroad and understanding other cultures.
Richardson traveled with three other teacher leaders and 40 students. As a teacher leader, Richardson says she got to see students in a different way.
"You bond very deeply with these students because you get to experience all these amazing moments that they're experiencing," Richardson said.
She says one of her favorite things in life is getting to see kids experience firsts in life - like seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
She hopes from this experience, the students learn to become global citizens and they take an interest in the world outside of Fort Wayne.