During the fall semester of 2019-2020 school year, 12 Seaman High School students will be getting the chance of a lifetime to  host a German foreign exchange student for two weeks. In turn, the SHS students will be traveling to Germany to visit their students in May 2020 and indulging themselves in the German lifestyle.

The program providing the students with this opportunity  is the Seaman Marburg Partnership Program, better known as Sea Map. This program is part of a bigger program that is in partnership with the German Government and the American Government called the German-American partnership program. The purpose of both programs is to create relationships between the German students and American students showing them they share more similarities than differences. .

The SeaMap program has been at Seaman High School since 1992. The main goal for this program is to show students a different way of living.

While the students are on a trip of their lifetime, they will be going to school with the students, living with them, and touring Germany. The german students will be doing the same when they come to Seaman High School. This opportunity will both groups of students better their language and culture skills. “As a language teacher, I am hoping my students can better their German and put it to use in the real world.” Mrs. Calhoun states.

When asked what she is hoping the students will gain with this trip, Mrs. Calhoun stated, “I want the students to experience something different, create a relationship with someone different, and see that the way we doing things is not the only way of doing.”.

The process of getting into SeaMap was a difficult one to say the least. The 21 students of various ages who applied had their grades examines thoroughly, where required to write an essay, where evaluated by their teachers and coaches, and an in person interview with all the  teacher going to Germany with the group. The interview process was added just this year as another way to narrow down the applicants. Throughout the interview process, the students had to show the teachers around their houses and introduce the other people living in the house.

The 12 students participating in the Sea Mapp program are Juniors chloe Devlin, Skylar Price, Olivia Wykert; Sophomores Ethan Aker, Lauren Beavers, Kaden Fox, Isabel Freisberg, Keeley Gaer, kalie Kleiner, Kaya Pyle, Zosia Stottlemire, and Kaycee Tanner.

Keeley Gaer  says she is most excited about “Being able to go to a different part of the world, experiencing the culture, and making a lifelong friends.”

The impacts of SeaMap have been significant upon the students who have already experienced the program. The students who participated during the 2017-2018 school year are already making plans to meet up with their German students soon. Mrs. Calhoun hopes the same relationship will form with this next group of students.