Project Updates

Tamar Gabunia will return to her home country this summer with a Master’s degree in Public Health and special honors from her host university. Faculty of the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health selected Tamar to receive the 2009 Health Policy and Management Student Award for Excellence. Graduating students are chosen based on their academic performance, contributions to the educational experience, and potential for leadership after graduation.

Andriy Moskalyk came to the US to study securities and financial regulation, with the aim of reforming mortgage laws in his native Ukraine. Through his community service project with the Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives, however, Andriy has gotten a perspective on issues outside his field of study.

With Master’s degrees in hand after two successful years in the US, the 2007 cohort of Muskie fellows reunited for a Commencement Retreat May 18-21 at the Rocky Gap Resort and Lodge in Cumberland, MD. Through interactive workshops and guided reflection, the graduating class of Muskies prepared for the next steps ahead—re-integrating in their communities, finding employment, and utilizing their US experiences and new skills to foster Eurasian development and strengthen relationships between Americans and people in their home countries.

IREX is pleased to announce the April 2009 Project Smile grantees. Please see below.

Project Smile is a community development program for alumni of select Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) sponsored programs. Grants are awarded to alumni to implement community service activities that will benefit an underprivileged group in their local community such as children at an orphanage, the disabled or the elderly.

Silva Stepanyan, a 2008 Muskie fellow from Russia studying business at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), is also an avid photographer. Silva entered a photo contest at EMU during the spring semester, and while she didn’t win, her submission “Train from Sochi – Moscow” was selected for publication in the summer 2009 issue of Eastern, the university magazine. You can view Silva’s photo and read about recent developments at EMU in the Eastern.

Karine Taslakyan (Muskie 2004) was recognized as July's State Alumni Member of the Month for her contributions to the alumni community in Armenia. Karine serves as vice president of the American Graduates Association (AGA), an association of U.S. government-sponsored exchange program alumni in Armenia, and has implemented projects to increase public awareness of ecological issues and build capacity among NGOs in the rural development sector.

13 Muskie fellows participating in the pre-academic training program at the University of Delaware's English Language Institute recently had the unique chance to meet for nearly two hours with Mayor James Baker of Wilmington. Mayor Baker discussed current challenges facing his city, as well as ways his administration is addressing these issues. The meeting and the Muskie program were highlighted in the university's UDaily newspaper.

The 2009 cohort of Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship Program participants embarked on their U.S. experiences at the August 2-5 Welcome Workshop held at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Several current Muskie fellows from the 2008 cohort were on hand alongside IREX staff to provide advice on succeeding in graduate school, locating housing, managing personal budgets, finding a community service project, and securing an internship.

IREX is pleased to announce the Summer 2009 Project Smile grantees. Project Smile is a community development program for alumni of select Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) sponsored programs. Grants are awarded to alumni to implement community service activities that will benefit an underprivileged group in their local community such as children at an orphanage, the disabled or the elderly.

On August 22, 2009, in celebration of the recent International Youth Day, eleven UGRAD and Muskie alumni and two IREX staff members worked together in cleaning a small area of Lake Sevan’s polluted shore.