PTPI Blog

There is a new Student Department intern at PTPI World Headquarters – help us welcome her! (Our two former interns, Brent Jensen and Eileen Purkeypile, have joined the PTPI Staff full-time.)

Name: Ranya Ahmed

Title: Intern, Student Department

Start Date at PTPI: May, 2011

Ranya Ahmed

1. Where all have you lived in the world?

I’ve lived all over the place! I’m from Bahrain so that’s where I spent most of my life, but I’ve also lived in England, Scotland, Australia, and the United States (Iowa, New York, and Kansas). I’ve traveled to about 26 countries so far, and hope to continue traveling!

2. What has been your favorite travel experience?

I have two: I loved going to Peru and exploring the Andes Mountains and the Incan ruins, but I also loved my trip to South Africa which consisted of a volunteer, safari, and educational tour of the country.

3. Who is your favorite fictional character?  (Literature or film)

I love Robert Frost poems, and although it is unclear in “The Road Not Taken” who the character is, that person is my favorite character because I like to think of myself as being courageous enough to take a more daring, difficult, and adventurous approach to life,

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one last traveled by

And that has made all the difference.”

4. What is your favorite song?

“Let It Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne

5. If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be?

Baskin Robbins “World Class” – it’s a swirl of different types of chocolate – and I like to think of myself as a person with many intertwining components! Plus, it’s delicious!

Name: Liz Wegman

Title: Director, Public Relations and Development

Start Date at PTPI: I have two…November 2003 and September 2008

Liz Wegman

1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I’d love see the entire world but I’ll say Sub-Saharan Africa to start with. And to narrow it down from there, it’s a goal of mine to attend the Festival au Desert in Mali. I imagine that would be an extraordinary experience, for so many reasons. (Read about it!)

2. Are there any words you live by? A favorite saying or quote? What is it?

Yes! I painted a chalkboard wall in my kitchen and this is the first thing I wrote on it because I adore this quote:

“Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven’t had that, what have you had?” – Henry James, from The Ambassadors

3. What is your favorite book?

Hmm…way too hard to pick just one but a book that makes me laugh more than almost any other is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I highly recommend it, especially if you love to laugh!

4. If you could pick one person in history to have lunch with, who would it be?

Coco Chanel. I have a great deal of admiration for what she accomplished in her life, and the attitude with which she did it.

5. What is your favorite flower?

For the smell, tuberose. For the way they look, calla lilies or green hydrangeas. Oh, and pale pink roses. (Take notes for future flower sending reference…)

For more information on People to People International, visit our website at www.ptpi.org

Name: Katherine Hubbard

Title: Youth Conference Coordinator

Start Date at PTPI: July, 2005

Katherine Hubbard

1. Where all have you lived in the world?

Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, California (college) and Germany (1  year study abroad)

2. Who is your favorite fictional character?

Elizabeth Bennet (actually all the Bennet sisters as a collective whole!) in Pride & Prejudice

3. Do you like to cook?  What is your favorite thing to make?

Love to cook!  Favorite thing to make is probably my Grandmother’s special spaghetti.

4. If you could pick one superhero power, what would it be?

Invisibility

5. Mountains or beach?

Mountains!

To learn more about People to People International, visit www.ptpi.org