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WEB NEWS RELEASE |
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Prince George’s County International Ambassador Study Abroad Scholarship Program Announces New Envoys– Four University of Maryland (UMD) students have been selected as the seventh cohort to receive the prestigious Prince George’s County International Ambassador (PGCIA) Study Abroad Scholarships. These students, who are also high school graduates of Prince George’s County Public Schools, will study abroad in Australia, South America, Central America and Asia during the Winter Term or Spring Semester.
“The truth is that global competency is a necessity in the 21st century. It is clear that our students will be competing with everyone from everywhere for everything. If they are to serve as tomorrow’s leaders, they must gain exposure to the world today,” says Dr. P. Bai Akridge, director of the PGCIA program. Students who are economically disadvantaged often do not participate in such critical education opportunities. Indeed, they are the most underrepresented in college study abroad programs. For example, less than 3% of UMD’s most financially needy students study abroad. “Unfortunately, too many in our African–American, Hispanic–American, and Native–American communities, and those with financial needs, see study abroad as an unaffordable luxury. Programs like this one make study abroad affordable and attainable,” says Dr. Akridge. This is the fourth year of the PGCIA Study Abroad program and the first year scholarships are being funded by the Hon. Rushern Baker’s Office of the County Executive. The OCE fully funded the scholarships during the pilot in 2008–09, enabling eight students to study internationally. The OCE has been joined by UMD’s Office of the Provost, who have also contributed financially to the scholarships. A total of 31 Ambassadors have been supported with individual scholarships valued at $1000 to $1500. “In these especially tough financial times for local and state governments, I am greatly encouraged by the continued support of County Executive Baker,” says Dr. Akridge. “It is also increasingly difficult to find financial support for programs like this one, so we are actively seeking other sources of funding to continue and expand this important program.” The current cohort, listed below, will travel to Australia, Brazil, El Salvador and Korea. Included in this cohort is a recipient of the prestigious Gilman International Scholarship, a nationally competitive, study abroad scholarship funded by the U.S. State Department. During 2010–2011 ten student ambassadors completed study trips to Australia, Costa Rica, Germany, Ghana, Italy and Israel.
As a part of their award, the student ambassadors have a community service obligation to share their experiences through outreach activities in public schools, serve as mentors to college–bound high–school students, and/or volunteer in internationally–oriented organizations in Prince George’s County. A partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools enables these ambassadors to speak to current public high school students at schools throughout the County. This unique international learning program is administered by the International Center for Transcultural Education at the University of Maryland’s College of Education, in collaboration with the UMD Education Abroad Office. To learn more about the PGCIA Study Abroad Scholarship program, please contact P. Bai Akridge, Ph.D., PGCIA Director: 301.442.6732 (Phone), or email pbai@umd.edu. Further information is also available on Maryland’s International Programs Study Abroad website: www.international.umd.edu/studyabroad/6190
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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu Halima Cherif, Assistant Director for Communications, at: hcherif@umd.edu
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