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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Denver, CO – The Conexão Mundo program—a groundbreaking, innovative international education collaboration between the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI) and US-Brazil Connect—will have a broader reach than ever in 2015. The bi-national educational exchange will now reach 32 schools in 20 Brazilian states, increasing from 18 states in 2014. Seven Brazilian cities will also host the program for the first time. Together with the other sites that are multi-year partners in the program, Conexão Mundo will offer spaces for 137 US Fellows, 67 US Team Leaders and 2,004 Brazilian students.

US-Brazil Connect Fellows and Team Leaders learned of their site assignments last month. The announcement of Brazilian cities elicited cheers at the nonprofit’s offices in Denver, Colorado.

“When you are placed in unfamiliar circumstances, a new part of you comes alive,” said Team Leader Brenton Weyi, who is very excited about his team assignment to Contagem in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Unlike most international education programs, Conexão Mundo optimizes both physical and digital classrooms. US Fellows spend four weeks in Brazil helping students improve their fluency in and confidence with the English language through collaboration and interactive learning. Before and after that time, students and Fellows work together on Facebook and Google Hangouts to build relationships with one another and refine English skills using technology as a means of connection and distance education.

At the end of the program, the top five percent of students in the 2015 Conexão Mundo program from each site will be chosen to travel to the US.

“The program not only improves the English of young people. It also improves their confidence in other disciplines and prepares them with key skills to succeed in a globalized workforce,” said Sérgio Moreira, the Assistant Director of Education and Technology at CNI.

Conexão Mundo has a similar benefit for US participants hoping to sharpen their skills in international management. Over the course of the 18-week program, each US Fellow completes a rigorous curriculum built to improve leadership skills and cooperation across cultural boundaries.

“Our educational model has succeeded by our listening to and meeting the needs of Brazilians—not by imposing our own assumptions. Collaboration has helped make our fellowships affordable, but we also want that to be a key lesson for our Fellows. The 21st century economy awards creative partnerships, not traditional dogmas,” explained US-Brazil Connect Education Director Susan Gershwin.  

US-Brazil Connect Founder and President Mary Gershwin sees another exciting point in the announcement: the chance to build connections with Brazilian communities new to the program, and deepen connections with those already participating.  

“The friendships people develop through Conexão Mundo are the lifeblood of the program, because they open new avenues to learning, especially in the digital age,” she explained. “We are thrilled to be welcoming so many amazing communities into the Conexão Mundo family.”

Check out our other newsletter stories!  

137 Students and Young Professionals Selected as US-Brazil Connect Fellows

US-Brazil Connect Launches New STEM Fellowship for 2015 Program Year

Six Community Colleges Continue Partnerships with Brazil's Technical Education System

US-Brazil Connect and Brazil’s Industry Association Announce 32 Sites for 2015 Programs

Check out our other newsletter stories!  

137 Students and Young Professionals Selected as US-Brazil Connect Fellows

US-Brazil Connect Launches New STEM Fellowship for 2015 Program Year

Six Community Colleges Continue Partnerships with Brazil's Technical Education System

US-Brazil Connect and Brazil’s Industry Association Announce 32 Sites for 2015 Programs

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.”

US-Brazil Connect has discovered US industry leaders share a growing interest in workforce development in Brazil and the US.  When the Denver nonprofit hosted 108 of Brazil’s top math, science, and technology students during January and February 2015, US companies opened their doors to showcase opportunities for meaningful work in the technical sciences as career options for these students.

The students who took part in the trip to the US were selected for excellent achievement during the 2014 Conexão Mundo Program—an educational collaboration between US-Brazil Connect and the Brazilian Confirmation of Industry (CNI). Together, the two organizations work to create opportunities for young people in both countries by building skills required for success in a global economy—cultural competency, language efficiency and confidence when speaking English.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Applied Control Engineering, ARCADIS US Engineering, the ALCOA Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars/Brazil Institute, and a range of US companies on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit participated in the Brazilian student visit.

“We’re proud to support the brightest young minds of Brazil by strengthening their interest and confidence in pursuing STEM education and careers,” said Kathy Tobey, vice president and general manager of Special Programs for Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “Through their intellect and curiosity, the students will help drive Brazil’s growing space economy.”

When the students visited in January, Lockheed Martin Space Systems not only allowed students to demo virtual reality goggles and see models of next-generation US spacecraft. They also connected the students with young engineers working on the Orion Spacecraft—the future of NASA’s manned space program.  

“In our work with 2,000 Brazilian students over Conexão Mundo 2014, we have learned they want challenging careers that will connect them with the world. But they know little about the real options for great jobs,” said Mary Gershwin, president of US-Brazil Connect. “Through our partnership with Brazil’s Confederation of Industry, we help students see that the STEM fields can open the future to previously unimaginable work opportunities that are both global and meaningful.”

A collaborative network of community colleges, churches and host families successfully welcomed US-Brazil Connect’s largest student delegation to date. During January and February, communities in Michigan, Montana, Iowa and Colorado hosted 108 Brazilian students.

“When we send our Fellows to Brazil, we are always amazed by the level of hospitality,” said US-Brazil Connect Global Partnership Director Kerri-Ann Appleton. “This year we worked hard to match their kindness. Our families and an amazing set of new community partners rolled out the red carpet.”

The students were selected for their outstanding performance over the course of US-Brazil Connect’s Conexão Mundo Program in 2014. The two-week all-expenses-paid trip to the US rewards the top five percent of 2,000 students who participated in the Conexão Mundo Program.

Tracy Simpson, US-Brazil Connect’s Exchange Visit Coordinator, worked with host families and community partners across the country to welcome the Brazilian students.

“Our goal in this trip was to expand the horizons of these amazing students,” explained Ms. Simpson. “We hope the connections host families, host communities and educational partners forged with the students will last for years, if not decades.”

The Brazilian students traveled to locations in the US where they saw their coaches from the previous summer. While the majority of students came to Denver, US-Brazil Connect’s Community College partners also welcomed students to Jackson Community College in Michigan; Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana; and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Select host communities in each city also matched the Brazilian students with activities and host families. In the Denver Metro area, St. Ambrose Church, Denver Center for International Studies, Monarch High School, Boulder High School, Palomino Park, and Highline Academy all arranged activities and homestays for groups of student delegates. 

A number of educational partners also provided the student delegates a chance to see the US education system in action.  George Washington High School, Monarch High School, Montebello High School, South High School, Foothills Elementary each welcomed Brazilian students into classroom activities.