Mesa Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Oct. 8.
Mesa Community College is pleased to welcome 12 international exchange students to contribute to our vibrant campus community during the 2018-2019 academic year as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Community College Initiative (CCI) Program. The CCI Program will provide 146 participants from underserved global communities with a one-year non-degree academic program in workforce development fields at nine U.S. community colleges in eight states. This year, CCI participants studying at MCC are from Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Colombia, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt.
“This year’s cohort of students are focused on careers in business, early childhood education and sustainable agriculture,” states C.C.I. Program Coordinator, Paul Patterson.
The CCI Program is designed to build participants’ technical skills, enhance leadership capabilities, and strengthen English language proficiency. The program also provides opportunities for professional internships, service learning, and community engagement activities to build relations between citizens of the United States and other countries. During the 2017-2018 program year, CCI participants contributed nearly $1 million in service to local U.S. communities through volunteering and unpaid internships, as calculated by independentsector.org rates for volunteer hours. CCI participants also contribute to their U.S. host communities by bringing diverse, global perspectives to classrooms, campus life and local organizations.
After completing the CCI Program, participants return home with a deeper understanding of U.S. culture and with improved technical and vocational skills to contribute to the economic development of their home communities.
Since 2007, the CCI Program has hosted more than 2,900 participants from 21 countries. This U.S. Department of State program is administered by Northern Virginia Community College on behalf of the Community College Consortium. For further information, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at eca-press@state.gov.
Original source can be found here.