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

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.

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."