Local Student Teams Win German Trips

Two teams of students from North Hollywood and Santa Clarita are among the students from four Los Angeles area schools who will spend their summer vacations in Germany after winning the “Ambassadors To Europe” competition, officials said Tuesday.

Four students each from Walter Reed Jr. High School in North Hollywood and Canyon High School in Santa Clarita won the 11-day trip by besting six other Los Angeles area schools in an oral test on Monday. Two other schools, Foothill High in Santa Ana and Imperial High in Pasadena, also won and will send four students each to Germany.

More than 600 teachers and 50,000 students participated in the academic contest, which initially asked students, who are in grades 9 through 12, to study Germany from an in-depth, ambassador’s point of view. The students, who formed teams of three or four students, were selected to participate in Monday’s oral test by writing a four-page essay, entitled “Today’s Germany, The Newest Old Country.”

To prepare for the competition, the students studied the country’s geography, government, economics, history, education, culture and current events. Students also used the Los Angeles Times to research international news.

The winning students from Walter Reed are Rebecca Dudovitz, Rebecca Goodberg, Andrew Robbins and Eli Naduris-Weissman. The students from Canyon are David Douglas, Vincent Fu, Rad Proscewicz and Mark Vasko.

The contest was sponsored by Lufthansa German Airlines and the German National Tourist office, with administration and co-sponsorship by the Los Angeles Times in Education program.