"It was honestly a really surprisingly pleasant, safe experience," she shared with The Post. Roozen's apprehensions about the perceived dangers of the subway were quickly dispelled, making her visit to New York City in 2022 a memorable one.
Roozen's trip to the Big Apple was part of the American Exchange Project (AEP), a social experiment that thrusts high school students from across America into environments vastly different from their own. The project aims to foster understanding and unity by placing students from conservative states into liberal ones, or from bustling cities into rural areas.
The AEP experience has been transformative for many of its participants. Yenifer Abreu, a 19-year-old Brooklyn native who journeyed to Palo Alto, California, last summer, described it as "one of the most terrifying yet most beautiful and life-changing experiences I’ve had."
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During their week-long travel, students are hosted by local families who introduce them to community events and service opportunities. The program, funded by donors like the MacArthur Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, covers all expenses, including airfare, meals, housing, and local transportation.
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Since its inception in 2019, AEP has collaborated with 53 high schools in 31 states, ranging from Urban Assembly Media High School in Manhattan to Muskogee High School in rural Oklahoma. To date, over 400 students have participated in the program.
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Roozen, who visited NYC during her senior year, hails from a small, conservative South Dakota town where agriculture is a primary industry. Her graduating class was a mere 35 people. However, thanks to AEP, she found herself on an airplane for only the second time in her life, flying to New York City.
Her trip was filled with quintessential New York experiences, including crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, attending a Yankees game, picnicking in Central Park, visiting the Statue of Liberty, spending a day at Coney Island, and dining in Times Square. "Just being able to look up and see buildings going on forever was just unimaginable for me," she said.
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The founder of AEP, David McCullough III, believes that young Americans have much to learn from other parts of the country and from each other. "Division is the greatest problem we face," McCullough, 29, told The Post. "So long as we’re at odds with each other, we can’t compromise and create progress."
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McCullough's inspiration for AEP came from a road trip he took across the country while studying at Yale in 2016. The friendships he made during that journey changed his life and his perspective. He believes that travel experiences like these can help young people see others as individuals rather than as stereotypical members of certain groups.
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Roozen's AEP experience not only opened her eyes to urban life but also revealed how much she has in common with kids across the country. Upon returning home, she met ZJ Schwartz, an AEP exchange student visiting South Dakota from Oakland, California. Despite initial apprehensions, the two became lifelong friends. "I definitely am way more open to understanding people now," Roozen said.
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Schwartz, a 19-year-old son of a consultant and a professor, comes from a wealthy zip code near San Francisco Bay. He was eager to see the rest of the country and was particularly intrigued by local perspectives. His trip to South Dakota introduced him to a range of spiritual experiences that prompted him to question his own spirituality.
Schwartz, now a culinary arts student at the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York, enjoyed his South Dakota experience so much that he decided to return for his externship at a restaurant. "This country is an amazing place with a very difficult political history," Schwartz said of his AEP experience. "It’s not easy to talk about that, but once we do, I think it becomes apparent that most people are on the same side."
Research conducted by Harvard in conjunction with AEP found that the experiences of Brook and ZJ are common among program participants. The study revealed that the program helped students perceive those who disagree with them as significantly more moral, thoughtful, and kind.
Ronnie Spradlin, Mayor of Kilgore, Texas, is a strong supporter of AEP. He believes programs like AEP are exactly what America needs right now and for the future. "The different regions have vilified the other parts of the nation. We imagine other places as caricatures of themselves," Spradlin, 67, told The Post. "I think that the division and the distrust increases with each generation now, and, unless we can stop that, we’re headed in a really bad direction."
AEP students say the friendships they forged during their trip will last a lifetime. Gabby Smith of St. Ignatius, Montana, who visited Palo Alto, California, last summer, shared, "I got to see a culture I might never get to see again." Smith was roommates with Yenifer Abreu while on her AEP trip. Despite their different backgrounds, the pair became fast friends.
Looking forward to the next AEP cycle this summer, McCullough wants to help more kids bridge divides and forge love of country. "My hope is that this experience becomes as normal in America as senior prom. It should be a public good," he said.
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