WEB NEWS RELEASE
University of Maryland students to serve as International Ambassadors
courtesy of the Office of Prince George's County Executive
PGCIA Scholarship winner
Laurie-Anne Sayles with
Christopher Lester, Ph.D., director of UM's Office of
Multi-Ethnic Student Education and PGCIA Advisory Council member
COLLEGE PARK, MD (July 2009) - Three lucky University of Maryland students who graduated from Prince George's County public high schools will be packing their suitcases this summer thanks to their recent award of Prince George's County International Ambassador (PGCIA) Study Abroad Scholarships.
This is the second cohort for the PGCIA Study Abroad program, which is administered by the Global Diversity Leadership Institute (GDLI) within the International Center for Transcultural Education at Maryland's College of Education. The Office of the County Executive (OCE) of Prince George's County provided initial funding for the pilot in 2008-09, supporting eight scholarships valued between $1000 to $1500. Funding is currently being sought to continue this unique program for the 2009-10 academic year.
The scholarships are part of a joint effort by OCE and GDLI to expand global literacy among Prince George's County students who are underrepresented (i.e., students of color and those with high financial needs) in college study abroad programs.
"Study abroad in college is the best time to experience the world, yet few of our students do so," said P. Bai Akridge, Ph.D., GDLI director and a member of the PGCIA Scholarship Selection Committee. "African-American, Hispanic-American, Native American students and those with high financial needs ought to take advantage of scholarship opportunities to study abroad in order to gain the foreign language skills and international perspectives required to operate successfully in today's global marketplace. If our students are to serve as tomorrow's leaders, they must gain exposure to the world today."
The first cohort of five student ambassadors completed study trips to South Africa, El Salvador, France and Chile. This summer's scholarship winners will travel to Jamaica and Spain:
Name
UM Majors
Destination
High School Attended
Wendy Recinos (Junior)
Studio Art/Spanish
Jamaica
Laurel
Laurie-Anne Sayles (Senior)
Public Health
Spain
High Point
Elizabeth Thorpe (Junior)
Kinesiology
Jamaica
Bowie
UM juniors Wendy Recinos and Elizabeth Thorpe will be international ambassadors for Prince George's County
As a part of their award, the student ambassadors have a community service obligation to share their experiences through outreach activities in public schools, service as mentors to college-bound high-school students, and/or as volunteers in internationally-oriented organizations in Prince George's County.
According to Ola Hill, director of Community Affairs for Prince George's County Executive and a member of the PGCIA Scholarship Selection Committee, "The vested interest the County is making in our youth today will certainly provide future educational dividends, such as more young, internationally-oriented role models serving our schools and community."
To learn more about the PGCIA Study Abroad Scholarship program, contact GDLI Director P. Bai Akridge, Ph.D., at 301.442.6732 (Phone); 301.336.1020 (Fax), or email pbai@umd.edu. Further information is also available on Maryland's International Programs Study Abroad website: www.international.umd.edu/studyabroad/6190
-end-
For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact Halima Cherif, Assistant Director for Communications, at: hcherif@umd.edu
