ASSE FLEX Exchange Student Irina Khisamova (Russia) with Jess Santamaria, District 6 county commissioner, Palm Beach County FL USA

A Day with a Palm Beach County Commissioner
Submitted by ASSE FLEX Exchange Student Irina Vasilyevna Khisamova (Russia) hosted by the Trifiletti Family of Wellington, FL, USA

My first project called “Leadership” presupposed me to spend a day shadowing a local leader. This person must be a business, political or community leader. On September, 15th I completed my project. I spent a day with a political leader – Jess R. Santamaria, who is a county commissioner for the district 6 of Palm Beach County.

This is how that day started. At 9 o’clock in the morning we arrived to commissioner’s office. We had some free time before the commissioner’s meeting which I also attended started so I had an opportunity to listen to Jess R. Santamaria’s story. He told us a lot about himself and also about his family which plays such an important role in his life. His family consists of him, his wife, his two sons, a daughter and two granddaughters. Most members of his family found their jobs in politics as he did. He loves his community as well as his family. He came with his family to Royal Palm Beach in 1974. And there are countless civic organizations to which he has given time and support. Jess Santamaria has demonstrated a unique commitment to the community. Since coming to the Western Communities, Jess Santamaria and his family have become outstanding leaders. His story was quite interesting and besides he is a really good speaker, so it was very pleasant to listen to him but it was time to go to the commissioners’ meeting.

At 9.30a.m.the county commissioners board meeting started with a roll call, invocation and a pledge of allegiance. Seven commissioners took part in the meeting, county administrator was also presented. Each of the commissioners represented his own area. The meeting lasted about three hours. During it several important topics were discussed and some public hearings were held. In the middle of the meeting commissioner Jess Santamaria introduced me. It was very exciting. The meeting continued with board appointments and staff comments. After the commissioners’ comments the meeting was finished. It was really very interesting and useful to see how the government works inside and I am happy I had such a wonderful opportunity. This experience was rewarding and very informative for me. The next day the web story of my visit was posted on the County web site.

But it was not the end. After the meeting commissioner invited us to have lunch with him. During lunch he told us about his work as a county commissioner and about his community involvement. He was working as a county commissioner for three years and all the money he had received for this work he donated to different charity organizations. Also it turned out that the work of a county commissioner is not a full-time job. And of the 14 jobs listed on Jess Santamaria’s resume 11 are still in the “current” category. Santamaria is a man willing to devote hours of his free time to causes that he believes will benefit the community. As a result of his dedication to the quality of life in Royal Palm Beach and surrounding communities, Jess Santamaria has been awarded 14 civic honors.

Jess Santamaria is also a founder of the organization “We the People United”. He said that the main aim of forming this organization was to remind the politicians that they were public servants. The main areas toward which the organization works are children, the environment, safe streets, honest government and honest business.

Mr. Santamaria is well-known throughout Royal Palm Beach and Wellington as a builder – he built 3000 homes in the Western Communities, and developer. Jess Santamaria’s love of this area is evident in his commitment to making these communities a wonderful place to live and work. He has received awards recognizing his community service, too numerous to mention. In addition to all his leader, business and political qualities he is a very friendly and outgoing person meeting with whom gave me an unforgettable experience.

ASSE YES Exchange Student Minna Al-Barqi (Palestine) and Science teacher/mentor, Alicia Woo

Leadership in Teaching
Submitted by ASSE YES Exchange Student Minna Al-Barqi (Palestine) hosted by the McCleary Family of Carson City, NV, USA

My science teacher is a perfect teacher towards her students and duties. She uses effective strategies and ways of teaching and communicating with students. She knows her goal and who is she is. She looks at her job as it is. Teaching is not an easy job and you can use your creativity.

We talked about how she got this position, about her personality and how to make balance between the job and personal life. She told me that she had to work really hard, needed to be organized all the time to be successful to get the work done. She said it is important to know your duties and what your position needs. Starting at any job at first is not easy and it takes hard work. Teachers need to care about their students and how they do in their studies.

I feel that I am learning a lot of new things. I know new things about life here, being responsible and challenges in the job.

About her year so far in the USA, Minna says, “It’s a completely different experience being here. I know a lot of people who are really nice to me and welcoming. I saw that people here are different from what you hear about them or about America in general. We had a pumpkin carving party with the exchange students in my area. It was the first time to carve pumpkins and it was a lot of fun. I went trick treating on Halloween. It’s a whole different experience and a lot of fun.

ASSE FLEX Exchange Student Giorgi Noniashvili (Republic of Georgia) with associate professor Timothy Ostrander

Shadowing a Community College Professor
Submitted by ASSE FLEX Exchange Student Giorgi Noniashvili (Republic of Georgia) hosted by the Norman Family of Roseburg, OR USA

I spent a day shadowing Timothy Ostrander, associate professor of nursing. He teaches pathophysiology, which is the study of the disease process in the human body. During this day, I observed how he was preparing for lessons. I had the opportunity to visit Umpqua Community College and understand how a college professor works with his students.

Professor Ostrander updated all information about the program he is going to teach and sent an email to all students about it. He let his students know what chapters they have to read for every week in this term. In my opinion, this system is comfortable for students and of course, for the teachers too. I was able to observe different computer programs that are used as communication tools.

Mr. Ostrander has direct contact to his students by email, so in case of need, students do not waste time and just sends an email to the professor. It’s hard to work to gain all this information from the books and answer all student’s questions but this system is a better way of communication for students. It gives them a chance to schedule everything and study in a minimal amount of time without big problems.

This day was important for me. I am from the country of Georgia, which is not as developed as the USA and I realize that we need an educational system like this. My country needs development and in my opinion, the same system for our colleges would make it easier to get knowledge. More educated people and of course a better system of education – this we need to make our future better.

Today, I understand how we can improve our system and how important it is for development. When I am back in my country, it will be easier for me to participate in the building of a better system of education because now I know an example of a good system and how it works.