NEWS THIS MONTH
CIEE Supports Puerto Rico's Disaster Relief Efforts
In the spirit of the holidays, CIEE is donating the funds traditionally spent on holiday gifts to Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria disaster relief efforts. In addition, CIEE is sending ten staff members to Puerto Rico in the spring of 2018 to join communities as they rebuild. Watch the video announcement from CIEE to learn more.
BAFF Alumnus Appointed Lithuanian Economy Minister
Baltic-American Freedom Foundation (BAFF) alum Virginijus Sinkevičius was recently appointed and confirmed as Lithuania's Minister to the Economy by Prime Minister Saulis Skvernelis and President Dalia Grybauskaite. Virginijus has been serving as a member of parliament for the ruling party, Lithuanian Farmers and Green Union, and, at 27 years of age, will now make history as the youngest Minister to ever walk the floors of the Lithuanian Parliament. Learn more.
Wrapping Up the 70th Annual CIEE Conference
Last month, the 2017 CIEE Annual Conference took place in Austin, Texas, where international education professionals gathered to discuss embracing technology in study abroad. Headline speakers Erik Qualman and Kimberly Bryant, Founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, shared their inspiring perspectives on digital leadership and changing the world with technology. There were a number of alumni who took part in this year's conference as session presenters, attendees, and more. Learn more about the alumni and the many innovative conference presentations.
CIEE Study Abroad Launches Biggest Giveaway Ever
Do you know a college student who's eager to have their own study abroad experience? You'll want to share this special sweepstakes with them! CIEE's See The World & Win sweepstakes has over 40 prizes valued at more than $100,000 to help launch new study abroad experiences for students. If you know someone who wants to study abroad in 2018, share this link and they could win awesome prizes like $3,500 towards a program, airfare credits, digital cameras, and other surprises to make it an unforgettable travel experience!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Stay up-to-date with alumni events by:
Read about the most recent CIEE Alumni Local Chapter events on the blog.
ALUM OF THE MONTH
The Alum of the Month for December is Denise Alvarez. Denise received the Global Navigator Scholarship in 2015 to spend a summer term in Tokyo, Japan on the Japanese Language & Pop Culture program, where she realized her dream of finding something more outside the classroom. Now in college, Denise is already planning her next study abroad experience. Most recently, she was able to return to Japan to visit old familiar sites and spend time reuniting with her host family. Learn more about the impact high school study abroad had on Denise.
Do you have your own story to share? Email us: alumni@ciee.org.
ALUMNI VOICES
Excerpts from recently published alumni stories:
"Cultural understanding was one of the things that marked me forever. I realized how important it is to educate others on those aspects. It gave me the passion, drive and motivation to continue to be involved in my community." -Naoel Cherif (CIEE Work & Travel USA and CIEE Access Scholar, 2017)
"The only way we'll ever even begin to solve this world's problems is through mutual understanding, and the only way we'll reach mutual understanding is through international experiences. As cheesy as it sounds, we're the future. It's up to us to make sure we leave this place better than we found it." -Paul Runcan (CIEE Work & Travel USA 2014)
