RAMVIEW NEWS : AROUND THE PREP
Men and Women for Others From 3,600 Miles Away
I n
June 2023 , science teacher Jennifer Muller , Dean of Students Steven Pettus P ’ 17 ’ 19 , and math teacher Omar Ward ’ 92 and P ’ 22 ’ 24 accompanied a group of students to Morocco as part of the Prep ’ s a Global Education program .
The group , which included 25 Prepsters , landed first in Portugal before heading to Spain for the first leg of the journey . After two days of exploring Spain , the group crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Tangier , Morocco .
The students and chaperones learned about the history and culture of Morocco through walking tours of Marrakesh , camel rides on the beach , encounters with local musicians , and visits to the blue city of Chefchaouen .
One can imagine that after such experiences , no one wanted the trip to end . Nonetheless , after 10 days abroad , the students and chaperones flew back to the United States .
Muller remembers their hosts for the trip , Saîd and Stafford , fondly . Saîd , who grew up in Morocco as part of the Berber people , and Stafford , an American , have been married for 10 years .
“ We built a really great relationship with Saîd and Stafford while we were there ,” Muller stated . “ He ’ s so knowledgeable about Morocco in general , and she has such a different view of the country as someone who is an American citizen with a Moroccan visa ,” she continued .
The chaperones kept in touch with the host family after the trip , communicating with them almost daily .
On September 8th , 2023 , the first day of the school year , news broke of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near the town of Oukaïmedene in western Morocco . The earthquake and aftershock that followed damaged much of Marrakech , where the host family resides , as well as settlements in the Atlas Mountains , causing a death toll of nearly 3,000 . Injuries totaled 5,500 .
“ As soon as the earthquakes happened , I received messages from [ Global Education directors ] Teresa DiVita-Geremia and Pierre Chavez as well as [ Director of Campus Ministry ] Mike Kravatz P ’ 23 and [ Director of Christian Service ] Paul Homer
ABOVE : Saîd , Melissa Remhild P ’ 25 , and Stafford in Marrakesh , Morocco . Remhild ’ s women ’ s yoga retreat group took some time out of their trip to volunteer in the Atlas Mountains sorting clothing donations and helping with other post-earthquake tasks .
BELOW : Fordham Prep students riding camels on the beach in Morocco .
reaching out to find out if we still had communication with our hosts . Then the conversation immediately shifted to ‘ What can we do to help ? There has to be something we can do ,’” Muller recalled .
Thankfully , the host couple was able to message Muller , reassuring everyone at the Prep that they were doing okay . Unfortunately , they could not stay in their home with their two children as the cracks in the walls from the earthquake became a safety hazard . In addition , Saîd ’ s family in the Atlas Mountains were suffering from a lot of devastation due to the destruction of their tented homes .
30 FORDHAM PREP RAMVIEW