DENVER – Between January and February, US-Brazil Connect will welcome 108 of Brazil’s top math and science students to locations around the country as a reward for their hard work during the nonprofit’s Conexão Mundo Program. The trip also aims to raise students’ awareness of international careers in the STEM fields.

Last year, Colorado Governor Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Hancock joined forces with the Denver-based nonprofit to celebrate the signing of one of the largest educational exchanges linking the United States with Brazil.  Sponsored the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI), the program has already engaged over 300 US students and young professionals in leadership experiences in Brazil and served thousands of Brazilian students spread over 20 Brazilian states.

The 2015 Student Delegates are the top 5 percent of 2,000 students that participated in the Conexão Mundo Program in 2014. While most of those students will come to Denver, three of US-Brazil Connect’s community college partners will also host students at Jackson College in Michigan, Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, and Flathead Valley Community College in Montana.  

Each of the students have a packed schedule for their two-week stay. Days are devoted to slides down Keystone Mountain and visits to local high schools. Nights will be spent at Nuggets games and enjoying American food with host families. But the students are also here on business, explains US-Brazil Connect President Mary Gershwin.

“The key to our model is that by connecting young people, we open both our Brazilian students and our US fellows to career opportunities that can change their lives,” she said. “We fuel the Western Hemisphere’s two largest economies through creative partnership.”

For the students, that means they will devote much of their stay to examining possibilities for future work by visiting some of Colorado’s industrial leaders. Tracy Simpson, US-Brazil Connect’s Visit Coordinator, has arranged tours of software engineering company Applied Control, engineering firm Arcadis US, Denver’s 3D print shop and other leading Colorado businesses.

Most notably, the Brazilian students will have a rare chance to tour aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado where they will be seeing some of the company’s cutting-edge technologies first hand. Virtual reality, 3D manufacturing and the support area where the company runs its planetary missions will all be on display for the students’ benefit. 

This is all welcome news to student Fabricio Reis, who hopes to study Chemistry at an US university. He looks forward to the chance to meet US high school students with similar interests in technical fields. Even so, he knows the first step will be to practice his English.

Each of the Brazilian students attend technical schools funded and operated by the Brazilian Confederation of Industry. As the main organization training Brazil’s future work force, CNI has become the largest secondary education institution in the Americas. Over 7 million students attend CNI’s school systems across Brazil for training in the applied sciences.

For industry leaders in Brazil, Conexão Mundo marks a recognition that in Brazil—as in the rest of the world—skills in English, technical science and international leadership are keys to success in a globalized economy. 

The same logic explains US-Brazil Connect’s approach to training US fellows to work in collaboration with Brazilian partners.

Denver, CO –Today, US-Brazil Connect announced that two Conexão Mundo alumni will be joining as full-time staff members at the nonprofit’s Denver office.

Regginald Hubbard—who led US-Brazil Connect’s Dourados team in 2014—will join as the Global Leaders Program Manager on January 26^th. Bri Erger will begin working as the organization’s Community College Program Manager starting January 28^th following her return from Rondônia, Brazil where she is at work running US-Brazil Connect’s OUTSPoken Program. 

Both join the organization with impressive resumes unconnected to the Conexão Mundo Program. Ms. Erger developed a love for service and working within the education system as an AmeriCorps volunteer in North Carolina, a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador and by working with 20KWatts—a nonprofit supporting development projects in Latin America.

She also recently completed a MA in International Development at the University of Denver.

Mr. Hubbard’s new position fits his long commitment to equal access and international education. Since graduating from Yale University with a BA in Philosophy, Hubbard has worked in events production connected to national campaigns and conventions, instructed civics for the American Civics Center and held management roles during high-profile international and domestic visits for Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Those high-level positions match his lofty goals for the young nonprofit.

“I am most excited about the chance to build upon the work I did in Dourados last summer and help create memorable experiences for the Leaders, Fellows and Students in Conexão Mundo 2015,” commented Hubbard concerning his new position.  “I hope to strengthen the ties between US-Brazil Connect and the US Embassy in Brasilia, as well as improve my Portuguese language skills beyond comprehension and basic conversation.

Mr. Hubbard’s travels have also taken him to Canada, China, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom. His love for Brazil has brought him to the South American country more than any other. Most recently, he accompanied Vice President Joe Biden on his trip to congratulate President Dilma Rouseff on her recent reelection.

The additions are a small part of US-Brazil Connect’s new management plan for the 2015 program year. The changes—soon to be finalized—will increase the capacity of the organization to expand and enhance the power of the Conexão Mundo Program in 2015 and beyond. 

Denver, CO --

Over January and February of 2015, Denver-based nonprofit US-Brazil Connect will host 107 of Brazil’s top science, technology, engineering and math high school students to locations around the US. The visit is a reward for the students’ stellar participation in the nonprofit’s Conexão Mundo Program (World Connect Program), but also serves to expose Brazil’s top students to US industry and education to build economic opportunity through cultural connection.

Now heading into its fourth year, the Conexão Mundo Program continues to build on a mission of creating transformative learning experiences by connecting communities in the US and Brazil. The program is a collaboration of US-Brazil Connect—which hires and trains English language coaches—and the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI)—which runs the largest set of technical high schools anywhere in the Americas. CNI’s SESI and SENAI system are currently training over 7 million students to fill industry positions in Brazil.

Conexão Mundo leverages the resources of each partner to improve the global leadership skills of young people in the US and the English-language skills high school students in Brazil. Each summer, teams of US fellows travel to the Brazil for four weeks to coach English through a high-engagement immersion program. On either side of that time, fellows engage with students over Facebook and Google Hangout to build connections and cement skills.

At the program’s end, Brazilian coordinators at each of the 32 Conexão Mundo sites select the top 5 percent of students based on their participation, character and intellectual enthusiasm. Those student are afforded the opportunity to travel and stay in the US for two weeks, all expenses paid.

Because each Brazilian student will soon enter math and science fields, trip organizers at US-Brazil Connect hope to emphasize industrial innovations unique to the US. While details are still being finalized, Tracy Simpson, US-Brazil Connect’s Exchange Visit Coordinator, is arranging tours to breweries, mining operations, engineering companies, software developers, green-tech innovators and aerospace manufacturers.   

To continue a focus on the student’s English language skills, each will live with US host families and spend three days shadowing US students at local high schools.

US-Brazil Connect will be hosting double the students it did in the winter of 2014. Last year, 47 students chosen from a student pool of more than 1,000 traveled to the US. The program’s rapid growth means a 107 student will be coming to the US this year, chosen from a student pool of over 2,000 students from almost every Brazilian state. 

While most the students will visit the Denver Metro Area, two of US-Brazil Connect’s community college partners will also host students. Former fellows and team leaders from Flathead Valley Community College and Jackson College will host students to Kalispell, Mont., and Jackson, Mich.