Dr. Carol Stax Brown, National Director, CCI & Ms. Rita Akhtar Acting ED, USEFP during re-entry workshop

Dr. Coral Stax addressing students at the dinner - May 13, 2010

The grantees were briefed about academic and social life in the US. The grantees will be placed in various community colleges of US for non-degree certificate programs. Community colleges operate under a policy of “Open Admission” i.e. anyone with a high school diploma may attend regardless of prior academic status or college entrance exam scores. However, students have to take assessment tests before enrolling. The Community College Initiative Program (CCI) enables professionals to learn the best practices in their field globally. The CCI scholarship is announced once a year and is fully funded including travel, boarding, lodging, stipend, health insurance and the tuition fee for the entire period of study. The program has been run successfully for last two years and it has trained almost 43 professionals so far. The returning professionals are now contributing in various sectors/industries of Pakistan.

Last year alumni of Community Colleges  sharing their experiences about studying in US

The program is administered by USEFP in Pakistan and is funded by Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State. Community Colleges for International Development (CCI), Northwest Consortium and Northern Virginia Community College administer the program in the U.S. This year grantees will be trained in the areas of Agriculture, Applied Engineering, Business Management and Administration, Media and Tourism and Hospitality Management.

Community College  grantees posing for a group-photo on PDO - May 14, 2010

USEFP held a Re-entry workshop for Community College Program alumni on  May 13, 2010, followed by a formal dinner. The purpose was to help the returning professionals re-adjust in the country and  to gather their feedback/input to further strengthen this program. This year grantees were  invited to the dinner to interact with alumni and to take benefit of their experiences. The workshop was also followed by the PDO on 14th May 2010.

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Almost 160 undergraduate students from all over the Pakistan will be departing for studies at various Colleges & Universities of US on scholarships. These scholarships are fully funded including travel, boarding, lodging, stipend, health insurance and the tuition fee for the entire period of study. A Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) was arranged by USEFP for them at Margalla Hotel on May 22, 2010.

Musical evening and dinner for Undergraduate grantees at USEFP - May 21, 2010

The grantees were briefed about the program, visa regulations, American culture, US higher education and campus life. Dr. Robert H. Nichols, Assistant Professor, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, who is the US scholar visiting under Fulbright Scholarship program, briefed grantees about studying in USA and adjusting as a new student. The workshop was pre-ceded by a networking dinner last night where the students were registered and their queries are handled by the staff. The grantees will be placed in various colleges and universities across various states of USA. Students with one semester or year-long duration courses will also be able to claim their credits from American Institutes, if they want to continue their education in US in future.

(Left to Right) Mr. Larry Schwartz, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, US Embassy, Ms. Rita Akhter, Acting Executive Director, USEFP and Dr. Nichols, AP, Richard Stockton College addressing the grantees

Undergraduate students pose for a group-photo at PDO, May 22, 2010

The grantees are funded under 5 various programs, out of which 3 are administered by USEFP and 2 are managed directly by the US Embassy. Programs managed directly by USEFP include 111 students under Global UGRAD Program 2010 for 1 semester; 29 students under Pak-US student Leadership Program for study of the US Institute for Pakistani Student Leaders on Comparative Public Policy at University of Massachusetts Amherst for 6 weeks; and 6 students under the NESA (Near East South Asia) Student Exchange Program for 1 year. Programs directly administered by US Embassy include 7 students under SUSI (Study of United States Institute) - Women Leaders Program proceeding to Greenriver Community College for 4 weeks and 7 students under Benjamin Franklin Summer Institute with South and Central Asia Program proceeding to George Mason University for 4 weeks.
 workshop.

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Under its Fulbright Senior Specialist Program, USEFP was able to host Dr. Frances E. Anderson, ATR-BC, HLM. She received her doctorate degrees from Indiana University. Dr. Anderson is a Board Certified, Registered Art Therapist. Recognized for her seminal efforts to use art with physically and mentally handicapped children, she is an Honorary Life Member (HLM) of the American Art Therapy Association. A distinguished Professor of Art, Emeritae at Illinois State University, she is currently Affiliate Faculty, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina. She has written numerous articles and 2 seminal books on art with disabled children. Dr. Anderson has given over 150 presentations at conferences and universities in the USA and overseas.

During her two weeks in Pakistan, she traveled to Karakoram International University (KIU) where she held two workshops. She also had a dinner with the Dr. Shama Khalid, Governor Gilgit Baltistan along with senior faculty members of KIU. She visited Naltar Valley, Karga Nullah and the disaster struck areas of Hunza.

In Islamabad, a workshop was organized by USEFP to present information on art as healing for children traumatized by natural disasters, on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. The purpose was to develop ways in which this information can be adapted for use with children in Pakistan. The workshop was attended by various leading NGO’s of Pakistan working in this area. It detailed how traumatized children can be treated through Art. This workshop included suggestions on how to help children cope with various traumas, they have suffered using artistic materials. Art, according to Dr. Adnerson, is the first language of trauma. It is through visual expression that children can develop a sense of control,  and can find words to describe what happened and find out that they are not the only ones suffering. The presentation demonstrated how to adapt art materials to enable children with physical, mental and emotional problems to express themselves in a safe and secure environment.

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