Travel Stories

Compliments Go Viral in Student Group's Hometown...Twice

WorldStrides Course Leader Gary McKechnie was so impressed by the middle school group from Rochester, Indiana he led last year that he sat down and wrote their mayor and city council members a letter.

“I was amazed at how well they interacted with one another,” he recalls today. “No matter what topic I talked about they were tuned-in, curious and passionate. When you get a group like that, it’s like batting 1,000.”

For example, while the students were passing by the picturesque U.S. Capitol, some kids remarked how they wished one of their teachers – recently diagnosed with cancer – was there.  Gary suggested the students record a greeting for her, and was impressed by the time they took to plan out a thoughtful video for their beloved teacher. “They ended the message with ‘We love you!’ and I thought, ‘these kids are special.’ They weren’t shy about sharing emotions,” recalled Gary.

“Knowing they were from a small town, I knew if I wrote to them it would probably get back to the teachers, the students, and the community. They were such a great group, and I needed to magnify it somehow,” he explains. So Gary wrote, concluding his letter with the following:

“Some people worry about the future of America. My time with those students help put those fears at rest. Great kids; all of them. You and the residents of Rochester should be very proud.”

The letter Gary penned resonated with the community leaders, and reached the school board, parents, and ultimately the local newspaper, the Rochester Sentinel. In fact, Gary heard that his letter went “viral” around the town.

“When Gary wrote to our town mayor, it made us swell with pride that our students were being spotlighted for their hard work and positivity. The students were both surprised and happy to be honored. It supported what we teach – people are watching you and your behavior,” said Rochester teacher and D.C. Program Leader, Misty Cripe.

Cripe also observes the positive impact the trip has on her students. “The camaraderie built during this trip is immeasurable,” she said. “Students also gain a better understanding of the history of our great nation. In my opinion, I specifically loved how humbled students became when visiting the memorials.”

Much to Gary’s delight, the Rochester Middle School group returned this year to once again experience a WorldStrides Washington D.C. program, and again, the group shared a heartwarming personal moment with Gary. While en route to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Gary shared with the group that his wife’s first husband had been killed in the line of duty, and his name was on Panel W29 of the memorial. After arriving at the memorial, Gary looked across the way and saw 10 or so students gathered on the west side. When he reached the students, he realized they were searching for the name Richard Howell, his wife’s first husband. When they located the name, one girl gently touched it with her hand.

“Well, that about put me away,” he said. “I composed myself and told them about his life and explained how he lost his life because of a drunk driver. I was stunned that kids would stand in the misty rain and search for his name to pay their respects.” Gary couldn’t wait until he returned to the bus before calling his wife. He told her about the kids searching for her late first husband’s name. “I told her she wouldn’t believe how good these kids were. They were thoughtful, kind and considerate. We were both in tears,” he said.

Clearly Gary was just as impressed with this year’s group from Rochester Middle School, and he was once again moved to write a letter. The editor of the Rochester Sentinel recently reached out to Gary to ask if he could publish his letter in its entirety as a letter to the editor, and Gary of course obliged.

Gary says he will never forget the students from Rochester Middle School, and it is easy to see why. “The better they were, the better I wanted to be for them.”