DENVER, CO –  Six community colleges have selected 56 outstanding students to serve as US-Brazil Connect Community College Fellows this summer. The Fellows will develop global leadership skills and a deep knowledge of Brazil through work as mentors to Brazilian high school students.

“Community colleges must lead in building global connections,” said Dan Phelan, President of Jackson Community College and incoming Chair of the Board of the American Association of Community Colleges. “It’s vital that our students attain a high level of global and cultural competence, and our efforts with US-Brazil Connect further that goal. This year, Jackson Community College is pleased to expand our work with Brazil as we send a team of 14 students to Salvador, Bahia.”

Jackson College, Kirkwood Community College, Community Colleges of Spokane, Northwestern Michigan College, Flathead Valley Community College and Miami Dade College are members of the Community College Fellowship all partnering with US-Brazil Connect for its 2015 Conexão Mundo Community College Fellowship Program. In its fourth year, the Conexão Mundo program pairs Brazilian high school students with students and young professionals in the US to expose students and mentors to global learning experiences and cross-cultural competency.

Each of the selected Community College Fellows will spend 18 weeks working with a small group of Brazilian students online and on the ground in Brazil, coaching them in English language acquisition techniques. Meanwhile, the Fellows will also complete a curriculum built to improve leadership skills and cooperation across cultural boundaries. The combination of coaching and the supporting curriculum gives Community College Fellows a strong basis in international experience and cross-cultural understanding that is essential for personal and professional development.

Study abroad programs have increased in popularity across US campuses as students and educators recognize the value of global leadership skills in an increasingly interconnected world economy. Even so, community college students do not study abroad at the rate of their peers at state and private universities. According to a 2008 report published by the Institute for International Education (IIE), fewer than three percent of those who studied abroad were community college students.  Considering that community college students make up over 45% of all US students in college, there is a great need for improvement. 

The Conexão Mundo program offers a unique opportunity for community colleges. Because Fellows fill an acknowledged need for expanded English language learning in Brazil in the SESI/SENAI school systems, community college students can work their way to a life-changing experience abroad. Such opportunities can be key career differentiators as community college students seek high-quality, affordable ways to prepare for work in a globalized economy.

“Twenty years ago, community colleges prepared students for a mostly localized job market. But as technology has decreased distances between geographic regions, community colleges have sought programs that prepare students to solve problems that span the boundaries of language and culture,” explained Dr. Mary Gershwin, President of US-Brazil Connect.

“US-Brazil Connect and our member colleges are proud to partner with CNI in Brazil,” said Dr. Gershwin. “This partnership does more than create academic exchange. It models how two large systems — in this case, community colleges in the US and the SENAI/SESI system in Brazil — can come together in an affordable, accessible, and sustainable way to meet the needs of students and communities.”

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There are a few simple reasons most Fellows and students sign up for US-Brazil Connect’s Conexão Mundo Program. Brazilian students see the program as an opportunity to improve their ability and confidence in the English language. For US Fellows, Conexão Mundo offers a unique chance to build global leadership skills. World leaders have been drawn to Conexão Mundo and similar international exchange programs for a slightly more complicated reason: citizen diplomacy. Broadly defined as the engagement of individual citizens in diplomatic efforts, citizen diplomacy has recently gained attention as a key tool for improving US-Brazil relations.

The Obama Administration has committed to strengthening ties between the US and Latin America with its “100,000 Strong in the Americas” initiative. As the name suggests, the goal of the effort is to increase the number of US university students studying in Latin America to 100,000 and the number of Latin America students studying in the US to 100,000 by 2020.

"The Obama Administration understands that education and basic human connections are key in re-creating a productive, vibrant relationship between US and Brazil, especially as that relationship overcomes challenges to embrace a future of shared opportunity” commented Reggie Hubbard, US-Brazil Connect’s Global Leaders Program Manager. Hubbard also recently supported Vice-President Joe Biden on a trip to congratulate Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff on her recent inauguration.

Brazil has brought a new focus to educational exchange through its Science without Borders Program. President Rouseff has committed $1.36 billion to the initiative as of 2013, offering scholarships for Brazilian students to study at foreign universities and intern at foreign companies focused on the STEM disciplines.

On a smaller scale, US-Brazil Connect has long relied on the support of diplomats as it worked to connect communities in the US and Brazil. US-Brazil Connect won an initial grant from the US Embassy in Brazil to start Conexão Mundo in 2012. Since then, diplomats have spoken at several opening and closing ceremonies for Conexão Mundo. 

US-Brazil Connect President Mary Gershwin hopes to continue to leverage Conexão Mundo toward the goals of citizen diplomacy. “We should never underestimate the power of people-to-people connections to form a bedrock of goodwill for international relationships and peace.”