Highline Community
College
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
DATE: October 3, 2007
CONTACT: Lisa
Skari, (206) 878-3710, ext. 3705
DES
MOINES, Wash. —Diah Hastuti, International
Student from Indonesia couldn’t believe her luck when she found out that
she was a beneficiary of a consortium of community colleges in the U.S. that had
been awarded a major cooperative agreement by the U.S. State Department’s
Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. “It was like a dream come true. I
have always wanted to study in the United States. Now I am here and it
is wonderful,” said Hastuti. Highline
Community College is one
of six member colleges from Community Colleges for International Development
(CCID) participating in the pilot stage of this $3 million program. The goal: to provide training pathways to
students from Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey,
Egypt, South Africa and Brazil. On August 12, 2007, Highline welcomed 16
students for a 12-month program to study Engineering or Hospitality/Tourism.
The
January 2006 Summit on International
Education moved U.S. college and university presidents to recommend public
diplomacy opportunities to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of
Education Margaret Spellings. Egyptian
government leaders, together with the
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USAID Mission in Cairo, have joined to
expand the initial pilot program.
“We
have recently learned that the State Department has approved an additional $8
million to bring about 170 Egyptian students to the U.S. in 2008. Highline is one of
three colleges nationally named as a Center for the program,” said HCC interim
president Jack Bermingham. The Centers also include Hillsborough
Community College in Florida
and Kirkwood Community
College in Iowa.
With
this substantial increase in the students arriving for training, each Center
will work with neighboring CCID-member institutions to place students in the
college that will best meet their programmatic needs.
“The
students taking part in this initiative will return to their home countries with
some specific technical skills they can use to take advantage of career
opportunities there. Their education and living experiences in the U.S. should offer them a greater understanding
of America
and assist Americans to gain a better knowledge of the students’ countries,”
said Bermingham. “By learning side-by-side with students from other nations
through this program and other international programs at Highline, domestic
students gain a broader perspective of the world. We hope this program brings
us all closer together and promotes public diplomacy as a means to enhance
peaceful resolution of conflict.
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In
addition to technical studies, the colleges will provide a Leadership,
Democracy and Personal Responsibility component to their programs to enhance
participants’ understanding of American society and strategies useful in
promoting civic engagement.
Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first
community college in King
County. With approximately
9,500 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest
institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic
transfer and professional-technical education programs, with online, day,
evening and weekend classes, and takes a multi-cultural approach to education for the success of
all its students and the prosperity of its surrounding communities. At the core
of Highline’s mission and vision are the principles of stewardship for all
students, regardless of their backgrounds. Highline does this by participating
in and leading innovative local, state, national and international initiatives. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice,
entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and noted
author Ann Rule.
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