‘It gave me a new perspective’: student exchange program attempts to bridge divided US

David McCullough III, CEO of the AEP, at the home of a participant in his program in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 2021. Photograph: Boston Globe/Getty Images

For Baltimore native Jessica Osei-Adjei, a week-long trip to Anchorage, Alaska, last summer was more than just her first time traveling solo.

“I went hiking on a glacier, camping and paddleboarding for the first time,” she says. “I’m not really an outdoorsy person but doing that was definitely worth it.”