Green River Community College is once again hosting 19 young women students from Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, India and Pakistan as part of the Study of the U.S. Institute on Women’s Leadership, an annual program sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

The intensive academic program is designed to promote a better understanding of U.S. history, government and society with a focus on women’s leadership, empowerment and community service in American society and each participant’s home country. Green River has hosted similar programs on its Auburn campus for the past five years.

In addition to American studies, each institute works to develop the students’ leadership and collective problem-solving skills. In this context, the program includes community service activities, as well as group discussions, training, and exercises focusing on leadership, teambuilding, effective communication, and presentation skills.

The participating young women are outstanding and highly motivated undergraduates, typically in their junior year at a university, who have demonstrated leadership through academic work, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. They are nominated by their respective U.S. embassies after a rigorous interview process which identifies students with the potential to become future leaders in society and in their chosen careers.

SUSIs are designed and funded by the Study of the U.S. Branch in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. SUSI participants are among over 40,000 individuals participating in State Department’s exchange programs each year. For more than sixty years, ECA has funded and supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Other ECA programs include the Fulbright Program and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.

For more information about ECA programs, visit http://exchanges.state.gov/.