When Amaya Lucio ’27 learned she had been selected for a fully funded international exchange through AFS Faces of America, her reaction was a mix of excitement and disbelief. She hadn’t applied for the program herself and didn’t even know it existed until she was nominated through the school. Suddenly, she was preparing for her first trip outside the United States.
“I’m excited to see a different country because I’ve never left the U.S. before,” Amaya said. “I’m excited to navigate culture shock and gain a whole new set of perspectives and see things that I wouldn’t see here.”
Next summer, Amaya will travel to Spain for a two-week homestay. Until recently, international travel wasn’t on her radar. A junior who takes French at the Academy, she has started learning Spanish through Duolingo in preparation for the trip. Outside the classroom, Amaya runs cross country, plays tennis, enjoys photography and drawing, and likes to crochet and read. She moved to Albuquerque from the Pueblo of Acoma to attend the Academy, a transition that marked a significant change in her daily life.
For Amaya, the program seems manageable in part because of its length. “Two weeks feels like the right amount of time,” she said. “I want to explore, but I don’t think I could be away from home for too long.” Still, she’s eager to step outside her comfort zone — trying new foods, seeing historic buildings, and living with a host family.
That excitement is grounded by advice from someone who has already gone through it: Iyla Hernden ’26.
Now a senior, Iyla traveled to Germany last summer as part of the same program, joining students from across the U.S. and Germany for a two-week program focused on social and environmental justice. It was her first time traveling abroad as well, and she arrived knowing little about what the days would hold.
What stood out most was the intensity of shared experience. Living in a hostel with other students, attending daily seminars, and navigating unfamiliar cities together quickly built a sense of closeness. “This kind of closeness is something you could not even begin to simulate,” Iyla wrote in a blog during the program. “When you’re living, speaking, and moving with the same people for hours and hours a day without end, you’re bound to get to know them.”
A musician and writer, Iyla found the opportunity shaped both her independence and her academic interests. Conversations with German peers — many of whom were deeply engaged with politics, sustainability, and global issues — pushed her to think differently about civic engagement and her own voice. She later drew on the time abroad in her college essays and now hopes to pursue economics and journalism, with plans to study abroad again in college.
As Amaya prepares for her journey next summer, she has already connected with Iyla, who has shared insights and encouragement from her own trip. Their journeys mark different points in the program’s cycle — one reflecting, one just beginning — but both underscore how meaningful learning can happen well beyond the classroom.
