Jaydin Brown, the ambassador for the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District, is enjoying her day with Rachel Salop, who is the ambassador for Martha’s Vineyard. (Photo from Jaydin Brown)
WESTFIELD – More than 350 eighth grade students across the commonwealth of Massachusetts participated in Project 351 in Boston on January 14. Each school that partakes in Project 351, has teachers and staff select an ambassador or ambassadors to represent their school.
A number of eighth graders in Westfield and in the surrounding hill towns were selected as student ambassadors and made the trip to Boston. They would spend the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., doing service projects, and getting to meet Gov. Charlie Baker.
In a press release from the Gateway Regional’s Communications department, one of the six eighth graders from Gateway Regional had quite the reaction when she realized she was sitting next to Baker.
“I almost couldn’t breathe,” Shondelee Ortega from Chester said laughing.
Baker also attended the service projects that students were doing, as he went to the Pine St. homeless shelter.
Benjamin Hyjek of Montgomery, and a student from Gateway Regional, said that Baker “stood over my shoulder and said “cool” while Hyjek was creating a painting.
Troy Stucenski, the representative from Westfield North Middle School, also painted a mural at the Pine St. Homeless Shelter.
Stucenski enjoyed his time at the shelter as the paintings would be going to individuals at the shelter.
Gateway Regional Middle school eighth graders Shondalee Ortega, Victoria Kot, Sierra Russell, Melinda Main, Amy Lafosse and Ben Hyjek served as student ambassadors to Project 351 on January 16. (Photo from Wendy Long)
“It was fun and it was good knowing that it was going somewhere that it was going to be appreciated,” said Stucenski.
Other activities included the eighth grade ambassador from Southwick Regional High School, Jaydin Brown, helping to make an apple pie.
“It felt really good to know that you’re helping someone out,” said Brown.
Melinda Main of Middlefield, was part of a group that honored Captain Jay Sullivan, who died in the Iraq War. All of the ambassadors in the group wrote a letter to the parents of Sullivan, thanking them for their son’s service.
“I felt like I was doing something not only for the community but also for his parents because we were representing their son,” said Main.
All of the ambassadors met up at the Kennedy Library for a formal dinner and a keynote speech.
Also representing Gateway Regional, was Amy Lafosse of Huntington, Victoria Kot of Russell, and Sierra Russel from Blandford.
