As the school year winds down, you might be sitting in your desk chair pondering where another year at Wake has gone or simply wondering how you are going to survive your fast-approaching finals. The next logical question would be, what are you planning to do once this semester ends? With summer quickly approaching, you might be feeling the need to make a difference through a service learning trip before you fall into the glorious monotony of your routine summer employment of waitressing or lifeguarding. The Feather and Stone Exchange program, which takes place on June 1-8, might be just the opportunity that you need to complete your summer and make it original and unforgettable.

The Feather and Stone Exchange is a week-long cultural and educational exchange program that takes place on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. For the mutual benefits of Wake Forest students and natives, Apache kids engage in summer academic and athletic camps alongside the Wake students, and the two groups interact with each other in order to foster identity development, intercultural learning, and multi-religious dialogue. This trip acts as a type of trade-system: Wake students will learn about the cultural, social, economic and political aspects of life of the Apache people while the Apache youth will begin building a support network for possible future matriculation into a college or university. Furthermore, they will receive university resources for tribal planning in such areas as education, economic development and health care.

As an annually-sponsored program, the participants of each consecutive year strengthen the relationship that has already been built with the Apache natives on the Reservation. This rare opportunity will include ten to twelve Wake students and faculty. Interested? Contact Dr. Stephen Boyd at boyd@wfu.edu or Mr. Dwight Lewis at lewisd@wfu.edu for a full itinerary and application. Space is limited so act quickly!