Slava Ukraini
Posted on Thursday, August 25th, 2022 at 2:48 pm.
Categories: Ask Robin, J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight, Videos
Global Learning By Design: A New Family To Lean On
Posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020 at 5:02 pm.By Katelynn Ziegler-Hall, Cultural Vistas
A version of this story was original published on Cultural Vistas Blog
Dalia and Shams’ U.S. experience was a family affair. Outside the office, their Gensler studio colleagues, host family, and friends came together for a traditional Iraqi dinner in October.
In September 2017, Dalia and Sham began their semester long internships with Gensler, a global design and architecture firm in Washington D.C. This experience not only laid a strong foundation for their future career success, but also allowed them to forge lifelong friendships in their American host community. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Celebrating International Education Week – Cooking as a Second Language
Posted on Thursday, December 12th, 2019 at 8:05 pm.By Marjia Panic, Teacher Exchange Participant from Serbia
“Now everybody – wash your hands! Let’s do this! I’m hungry!” Marjia Panic teaches participants how to prepare a traditional Serbian meal at an International Education Week event.
My name is Marija Panic, and I am a Special Education Teacher from Serbia. Currently, I’m participating in Greenheart Exchange’s Teach USA program, and am working at Harvard Elementary School of Excellence. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
How the Global Pathfinder Summit Changed my Outlook on Leadership
Posted on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 at 5:00 am.By Lauren Rosegreen, Camp Counselor Alumnae from the United Kingdom
Lauren Rosegreen and Roisin Quinn at Global Pathfinder Summit in Charlottesville, VA (May 20-24, 2019)
I first discovered the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) when I applied through the Smaller Earth Camp Leaders program to work at a summer camp in America. Cultural Homestay International (CHI) was my sponsor for my first ever cultural exchange experience, as I went to work as a dance counsellor at Camp Alleghany in West Virginia. Fast-forward three years, and I found myself applying for another EVP to work-abroad as a lifeguard at NJY Teen Camp, Pennsylvania. From enhanced career opportunities to life-long friendships and unforgettable memories, both experiences changed my life. So it was no surprise that when I heard about the opportunity for past EVP participants to apply to become international delegates at the Global Pathfinder Summit(GPS), I jumped at the chance.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Program Spotlight
Becoming a Civically Engaged Global Citizen
Posted on Wednesday, June 5th, 2019 at 6:07 pm.By Tebogo Serepong, Trainee from South Africa
Left: Tebogo getting ready for the Global Pathfinder Summit | Right: Tebogo chatting with other leaders before morning session commences.
When I left South Africa to begin my cultural exchange program in the United States, not only did I get a new physical address, I figuratively also acquired an address which has endearingly placed me outside of my comfort zone. I have made new friends and colleagues and linked up with some old ones, all while discovering and becoming a distinct version of myself. Personal growth has been coupled with tremendous professional development as my career as a Chartered Accountant keeps evolving and being constructively challenged through experience first obtained in California and now Washington, D.C. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants
Sparking Innovation: U.S.-Portugal Pilot Exchange Program Builds Intercultural Understanding
Posted on Friday, March 1st, 2019 at 6:54 pm.About the Author: Lynette Evans-Tiernan serves as a Public Affairs Officer for the Exchange Visitor Program at the U.S. Department of State.
Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce and Ambassador Domingos Fezas Vital of the Embassy of Portugal sign MOU.
On February 11, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce and Ambassador Domingos Fezas Vital of the Embassy of Portugal convened in the State Department’s Treaty Room to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. The MOU will increase intercultural learning and provide structured and guided training for American and Portuguese emerging leaders interested in learning about innovation and organizational growth and development. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Program Spotlight
State Department Publishes New Proposed Rule Notice for SWT
Posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2017 at 10:48 pm.By Nathan Arnold, Director of Press Relations for Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Federal Register for January 12, 2007
Today, we published a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Summer Work Travel Program” to the Federal Register. Through February 27, 2017, the State Department will be taking comments on proposed changes to the regulation that governs the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa
Making Peace One Exchange at a Time
Posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 at 9:07 pm.By Marcellin Niset, J-1 Secondary School Student from Belgium
This story was originally featured on Rotary Voices
Belgian Exchange Student Marcellin Niset in Alaska
The Italian-American author and actress Vanna Bonta wrote, “There’s no hospitality like understanding.” That quote stuck with me as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Alaska in 2015-16. I arrived in Alaska, a wilderness filled with beauty and love, determined to make my exchange purposeful and beneficial for myself, my host community, and the world.
An exchange is not only about a student going abroad, it is about all the people that make this exchange possible, and the ones that are impacted, directly and indirectly. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
U.S. Embassies Engage J-1 Participants to Strengthen Relations
Posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2016 at 2:22 pm.
J-1 Summer Work Travel alumni and prospective participants socialize and enjoy the photo exhibit.
The State Department is serious about relationship building with our exchange participants. That’s why we support alumni networks around the world. Recently, many of our embassies have increased efforts to engage participants from J-1 privately-funded jexchanges, so that the investment participants have made in their futures can be leveraged through association with other participants. We are excited to include these participants in our long-term alumni networks and outreach, and have seen much interest from participants to stay in touch with our embassies overseas.
Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Relationship Building: The Heart of International Exchanges
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2016 at 9:21 pm.
Darra Klein (right), and her lifelong friend, David Čeljuska (center) attending Baltimore’s annual Slovak festival in 2001 with another friend.
“International exchanges – especially those for young people taking the first steps of their professional lives – are strong and life changing experiences. It’s important to keep the international connections you make during an exchange alive because they have a powerful impact on your life, as well as others. Let’s face it, at the heart of it, international exchanges are about the relationships you make and maintain.”
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
| About Rebecca Pasini Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
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Rebecca A. Pasini joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges in July 2023. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister - Counselor, Ms. Pasini has been an American diplomat since 1997.
Ms. Pasini previously served as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2021-2023. Other Washington assignments have included positions in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Office of Foreign Missions, and as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also completed multiple overseas tours, including as Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, and as the Consular Chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other tours included Mexico City and Kuwait.
A Maryland native, Ms. Pasini has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, a master’s degree in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and an undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College.
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