Speedwell Picnic

This Sunday, I was given the honor of attending a picnic. As it may seem strange to refer to attending a picnic as an honor, this picnic is held yearly by the Speedwell Foundation for the recipients of the Speedwell Scholarship. All of the students who have been given the Speedwell Scholarship in the past and the students who have been awarded the scholarship and have not yet gone abroad are invited to attend.

Choosing where to sit was a process in itself! First, you had to find a table with the flag of the country you will study or have studied abroad in. This was not very difficult, as there were multiple tables with French flags on them. My family entire family of five was in attendance, which made sitting with other kids going to France and returnees very difficult, as each table had eight chairs. My mother wanted me to sit with the family, but I decided that I could profit more from the experience if I talked to other kids, instead of just my family, so I sat apart from them. At my table sat Aidan, two returnees from France, an exchange student from France, a friend of a returnee, the mom of a returnee, the president of AFS, and me.

Yes, you read that correctly. The president of the entire organization of AFS had decided that the Speedwell Scholarship winners' picnic was very important, and he sat at my table. Getting to know the president of AFS makes me love the organization even more. Everybody that I have met through AFS has been kind, relatable, and willing to talk about their experiences, from the volunteers to the president.

We ate. We talked. Nothing too radical happened at the picnic.

We took some group pictures. The first picture shown is all the Speedwell Scholarship winners from any year that were at the picnic. The second picture is the 2013 class of Speedwell recipients.

 

 

I got to meet the couple that granted my wish. These two people, Jenny and Mike Messner are the wonderful people behind the Speedwell Scholarship. Out of their own generosity, they have paid for my AFS tuition, meaning that I get to study abroad with no cost to me. I will always be grateful to the Messners! Thanks so much to the Speedwell Foundation for investing in the future of the world with the gift of studying abroad.


Me with Jenny and Mike Messner. I don't know how to properly string my gratitude into a sentence.

I went up to Jenny Messner and thanked her for allowing me to have the chance to study abroad. She asked me why I wanted to study abroad, and when I told her, she remarked, "You are like the poster child for AFS!" For someone as important as Jenny Messner to tell me this holds a lot of sentimentality to me.


À la prochaine!
-Natalie