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Announcing the Winners of the Global UGRAD-Pakistan Fall 2011 Video Competition November 29, 2011 IREX extends its congratulations to the winners of the Fall 2011 Global UGRAD-Pakistan program video competition, “A Day in the Life of a Global UGRAD-Pakistan Fellow.” Hammad, studying at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and Hassan, studying at Arkansas State University, won for their outstanding videos showcasing their experiences at a U.S. college or university and what they have learned about American culture and values.	Person-to-Person, Americans and Pakistanis Share Cultures November 22, 2011 by Sarah Bushman “As someone coming on exchange in another country, I prepared myself to expect anything,” said Masooma, a Global UGRAD-Pakistan participant studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Masooma echoed many of her peers preparing to meet their American friendship families. Others wondered about how best to represent their country to strangers or worried that they would be imposing on busy families.
International Education Week: Students Share the Value of International Education November 18, 2011 In celebration of International Education Week, undergraduate students from the Global UGRAD-Eurasia and Central Asia Program and the Global UGRAD-Pakistan Program shared what international education means to them. These participants are currently studying in colleges and universities across the United States, where they are also participating in community service and cultural activities, and serving as cultural ambassadors for their home countries.	US Volunteer Experience Lays Foundation for Helping Cancer Patients in Pakistan September 29, 2011 by Lisa Inks Ayesha is using the community service skills she honed in the US to help some of the neediest in Pakistan: children with cancer. For the past year, Ayesha worked at the Shaukat Khanam Cancer Hospital and Research Center in Lahore, bringing entertainment into the lives of chronically ill children while learning more about medical research. As a biotechnology major, she blends her passion for helping children with her intellectual curiosity and career goals.
Fall 2011 Global UGRAD-Pakistan Fellows Begin US Experience August 18, 2011 Nearly 100 young ambassadors from Pakistan arrived to begin their cultural experience in the United States. The fellows will spend the fall academic semester at 51 different colleges and universities in 31 states.	For a Pakistani in the US, “Little Gestures Say it All” August 8, 2011 by Sarah Bushman Home in Pakistan after studying in Minnesota, Nayab shares her new perspective of the US to her community. “Americans really do not care about what country you are from. They respect you for who you are,” says Nayab.
Pakistani Fellows Transform a US Campus July 5, 2011 by Lisa Inks Two Pakistani fellows made a major impact at Endicott College in the small town of Beverly, Massachusetts, where up until their visit some students knew their country only in terms of the Taliban or its ongoing conflict with India. Hammad and Humayun, fellows of the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan, arrived at the anxious campus this spring for a semester-long chance to study with Americans at a premiere institution. It was not long before they made an unforgettable impression and changed the way the campus community thought about Pakistan.	Pakistan Fellow Captures the Spirit of a Cultural Ambassador June 2, 2011 Every Friday at 5:00 pm throughout the spring semester, Hasnain arrived at the Carriage House senior care center in Denton, Texas. Over bingo and cards, he talked to the elderly about his Pakistani culture, his community, and his family. He listened to their stories, tales of growing up in the US and of life in a Texas town. As a spring fellow of the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan studying at the University of North Texas, Hasnain took seriously his duty as a cultural ambassador. Throughout his five months in the US, Hasnain spoke in local schools, on the university campus, and at the Carriage House, sharing cultural and personal aspects of Pakistan often obscured by the outpouring news in theof media attention.
At Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Fellows Link US Past and Present May 20, 2011 by Lisa Inks For many international exchange fellows who study at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), their stories are those of growth. Quickly moving beyond the one-dimensional images of the US normally shown abroad, fellows at HBCUs often leave with a deeper understanding of America’s complex history, broad diversity, and continuing struggle for equality. Until two years ago, Tsovinar of Armenia had never thought much about race relations around the world. “Actually, I didn’t care,” she said. “I didn’t think it made a difference.”	Global UGRAD-Pakistan Cultural Passport Winners Announced May 9, 2011 IREX is pleased to announce the 2011 Spring semester winners of the Cultural Passport to America competition for the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan. Arsalan and Ammad were selected as winners for their participation in a wide array of cultural events, creative use of their passport to record those events, and their regular and reflective blog posts sharing their experiences. Ammad, studying at the University of Wyoming, and Arsalan, studying at SUNY-Plattsburgh, discuss the Cultural Passport below.