Katie Rivers

BLOOMINGDALE — Katie Rivers gained the experience of a lifetime when she traveled to Greece last spring as part of a program through the Ohio State University Extension.

Rivers, the daughter of Stephanie Rivers of Steubenville, is a senior in the auto collision technology program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School and Steubenville High School who took part in the 4-H Global Immersion Project through the OSU Extension Office. She has been a member of the Country Classics 4-H Club in Richmond for the past nine years and leapt at the chance to travel abroad after noticing promotional information on Facebook.

“I just wanted a new experience and the project focused on cultural immersion and agriculture,” Rivers said, adding that she was the only representative from Jefferson County. “It encourages people to get out of their comfort zone.”

It was the second year for the program and began with college students, but this was the first time for high schoolers to participate. She joined 15 other teens from across the state, as well as three adult chaperones, and headed to Greece for a two-week excursion from March 12-23. The group took a 14-hour flight from Columbus to Newark, N.J., then went on to Germany and Greece.

Rivers spent time at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki hearing from professors and working with other teens. According to the program’s website, the American Farm School was established in 1904 and is renowned for its innovative approach to agricultural education. Participants engaged in a variety of educational classroom and field activities, including sensory analysis workshops with products, toured the school’s state-of-the-art facilities, including its experimental farms and research centers and were part of a work internship with AFS high school students working in cohorts focused on different program units that included animal and plant production, food science and technology and more. The youth also participated in a cross-cultural and agricultural career field exploration program designed to help them learn about careers in agriculture, cross-cultural interactions, workforce preparation and leadership skills.

In addition, the teens helped facilitate team-building and problem-solving activities through a leadership workshop with Greek high school and junior high students. By engaging with the students, the teen leaders expanded their leadership skill development and gained insights into teaching an international audience. Rivers also went hiking in the Enipea Canyon near Mount Olympus and visited the UNESCO World Heritage site Meteora, which features monasteries built in the 11th century atop limestone pillars. She noted more visits to historic towns such as Trikala, Kalambaka and Stagira, the latter being the philosopher Aristotle’s birthplace.

“I had Greek cooking and dance lessons at family-owned restaurants and visited churches and museums,” she added. “We went truffle hunting, taste-tested honey and went to grape farms to taste test products, plus we did a taste analysis with feta cheese and olive oil. We also worked with an organization that turns bottlecaps into toys.”

Rivers said it was definitely an experience she would recommend to others.

“It’s about the importance of community and growth and new experiences you can put people through. Our uniqueness and differences make a community special and bring people together,” she continued. “Everyone in Greece was very nice and excited to meet the Americans.”

She still keeps in touch with those she met from Ohio and Greece and said meeting people was her favorite part of the program, plus she hoped to attend a similar trip to Puerto Rico next year.