A pair of Kearns High School seniors have plenty of stories to share with their classmates as this new school year begins, thanks to more than $5,000 in donations raised by the “other kind” of seniors – those over age 65.

Last fall in these pages, we told you about a unique kind of “scholarship” being established by the KHS class of 1973. As that group was putting together details for their 50th class reunion, they decided to gather donations to fund a humanitarian trip for a pair of current students.

Former KHS cheerleader Jack Lucas chaired the Kearns High Alumni Scholarship Committee.

“The whole idea behind our scholarship was to help the recipients understand the importance of perpetuating service and doing good in the community,” Lucas said. “Years ago, I discovered a Salt Lake-based, nonprofit organization called Eagle Condor Humanitarian which operates volunteer service trips. So, we coordinated through them and then began raising funds.” 

Through a series of activities associated with their class of 1973 reunion, the committee raised $5,250. That was “almost” enough money to send two students on the trip.

“We also required each scholarship recipient to come up with $250 of their own money,” Lucas added. “We wanted them to have some skin in the game, also.”

After accepting written scholarship applications and conducting a series of online interviews with the finalists, the KHS Alumni Scholarship Committee selected classmates Kaila Wolf and Kez Zimmerman to join an Eagle Condor Humanitarian group bound for several days of work in Peru – followed by a visit to the renowned “Lost City of the Incas,”
Machu Picchu.

“The scholarships were available to Kearns High students of any grade,” Lucas concluded. “It was just a coincidence they both went to girls who were coming to the end of their junior year – and still have one more year of high school ahead
of them.” 

Zimmerman and Wolf were two of 10 volunteers on the trip. The group was evenly divided, five males and five females. All were from Utah, ranging in age from 15 to 20.

Neither of the girls had ever been outside the United States prior to boarding their plane bound first for Atlanta, then directly south about 2,100 miles to Peru.

“I had to scramble around to get my passport after being selected for the trip,” Wolf said. “We only had one orientation meeting before leaving to discuss what to pack. Then we exchanged a bunch of emails and took off.”

A Kearns High cheerleader and track and field athlete, Wolf had one advantage going into the trip.

“I was enrolled in the Spanish dual emersion language program starting in kindergarten up through ninth grade,” she said. “I am fluent in Spanish and was excited to speak down there.”

Zimmerman is an active member of the Kearns High School National Honor Society. She says the trip gave her a completely new outlook on life here in the United States.

“The experience in Peru made me think a lot bigger,” Zimmerman said. “In Utah, it seems like we think about our jobs or school; we get caught up so much in unnecessary drama. The people we were serving down there have so little – yet they enjoy their lives. It really made me think about my priorities.”

The group  did their volunteer work in Piura, Peru – not far from the country’s South Pacific
Ocean seacoast. 

“We dug trenches for a new water system our first day and then helped lay water pipe the second day,” Wolf said. “After that, we did repair work at an elementary school: painting a building, putting up new fences and doors, reroofing a play area – things like that. Many of the students’ parents were also helping.”

“It was so wonderful to work with the locals to provide them with something so crucial,” Zimmerman said. “It was remarkable to see how excited they were to get access to water, something we so often take for granted. When we finally got the pipes installed and water flowed from the spigots, there was a huge celebration. Children started splashing… while adults ran their hands through the water in delight and relief. One local woman made me and Kaila beautiful jewelry as a thank you gift.”

After completing their volunteer work, the Eagle Condor Humanitarian group donated toothpaste, toothbrushes and other personal and school supplies to the children. Zimmerman and Wolf both said connecting with the kids was one of their trip’s biggest highlights.

With their work completed, the group boarded another plane heading further south to Lima. From there, they made their way to the smaller community of Cusco and eventually to Machu Picchu.

“When I was first selected for the trip scholarship, I had no idea we would be going to Machu Picchu,” Zimmerman said. “That has been a bucket list item for me for many years. Learning about the history of the area was
very interesting.”

“There were so many llamas just wandering around everywhere while we were riding the bus to Machu Picchu,” Wolf added. “It was just so beautiful; it felt like it was not real life.”

All totaled, the classmates were out of the United States 10 days, from June 27 to July 7. They both describe those 10 days as “life changing.” Shortly after her return, Zimmerman wrote a thank you letter to the Kearns Alumni Scholarship Committee.

“The feelings I felt while on the trip are some I am not sure I will ever feel in exactly the same way again,” her letter read, in part. “It was so incredible to be able to get so close to locals and to my fellow youth (volunteers). I already miss those emotions. I cannot thank the
alumni enough.”

Zimmerman hopes to attend Weber State University a year from now, possibly on “a softball or academic scholarship.” She wants to be a zoologist one day, while continuing to do humanitarian work, particularly with
the homeless.

Wolf hopes to attend the University of Utah next year. She plans to earn a chemistry degree before moving on to dental school.

Both Kearns High seniors say their first-ever trip outside the United States – made possible by those “other seniors” – has changed their perspective of and appreciation for
our country. λ