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From Detroit to Italy: East English Village students travel abroad

<p>Nicolas Huey, far left and Kharriane Gray far right pictured&nbsp;with their 11th grade English Teacher, Ms. Allayne Woods. Ms. Woods inspired Gray and Huey to submit their essays for the study abroad program.</p>

Nicolas Huey, far left and Kharriane Gray far right pictured with their 11th grade English Teacher, Ms. Allayne Woods. Ms. Woods inspired Gray and Huey to submit their essays for the study abroad program.

Seniors Nicholas Huey and Khariane Gray from East English Village were two finalists of the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation. As winners of this competition, they participated in a month-long academic program based in Florence, Italy, over the past summer. Classes were based on the evolution of the Italian Renaissance and college level English composition.

The Palazzo Strozzi Foundation is a travel abroad program open to high school juniors in New York City, Los Angeles and Detroit. The students were selected after winning an essay. competition. Five participating students from public schools from New York City, two from Los Angeles, and two from Detroit submitted an essay on the Women of the Italian Renaissance. Gray and Huey were the only two finalists to represent Detroit.

Gray was excited to travel to Italy and looks forward to traveling there in the near future.

“I would like to travel to various international countries and this competition gave me the opportunity to meet my goal," Gray said.“Italy was a total different experience. Pedestrians traveled by mopeds because the streets were cramped. We walked a lot and everywhere."

"It was a good learning experience that taught me a lot about being independent," Huey said. 

Although they traveled in groups, Huey said, “I never traveled so far and without my family. This was a different experience, but I adjusted well.

"People were nice and hospitable. Going out to eat and buying food such as spaghetti or lasagna was very expensive as opposed to here in Detroit."

With this competition under their belt and a 3.4 grade-point average for Gray and 3.8 GPA for Huey, it likely won’t be hard for them to get accepted to their desired universities. Gray wants to attend Howard University, and Nicholas’ dream school is the Berkley College of Music.

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