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July 5, 2011
 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. |
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. |
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May 20, 2011
 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.” |
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. |
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April 22, 2011
 IREX is pleased to announce the Spring 2011 winners of the “Day in the Life of a Global UGRAD-Pakistan Fellow” video competition. Farhan, studying at Augustana College, and Fahad, studying at the College of Southern Idaho, submitted outstanding videos presenting their experiences at a US college or university and their understanding of American culture and values. Their videos were selected for their creativity and clarity in demonstrating both the uniqueness and breadth of their American experiences. |
March 30, 2011
 On Jawad’s first day volunteering at the Child Development Center in Chadron, Nebraska, a throng of children greeted him with a volley of snowballs. By the end of the day, the children had not only made Jawad a snowman, but they had also changed his perspective about working with young people. |
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March 23, 2011
 Annual observances such as Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day are useful tools for highlighting some of the many accomplishments of women as well as drawing much-needed attention to gender-based disparities around the globe. |
March 23, 2011
 One of the things I love about my job is that I get to see the world through other people’s eyes. When exchange participants arrive in the US and encounter new things on campus for the first time, I get to see how my country looks to them and hear about |
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March 19, 2011
 Afza returned to Pakistan poised to make an impact after studying in the United States as a Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan fellow. In March 2011, she helped organize an International Women’s Day conference with women business leaders in Islamabad to discuss topics such as women and law, the female mortality rate, and women in the financial sector. |
March 2, 2011
 The Global UGRAD-Pakistan fellows have embraced their role as cultural ambassadors in the US, spreading awareness about Pakistan through country presentations on and off campus. |
