February 13, 2018
Quinita Thomas
Learning isn’t only limited to a textbook and a classroom.
In December, two students traveled to Mumbai, India as part of the UCCS Global Ambassador Program, which was initiated following the end of the fall semester.
Graduate students Aamir Jamal and Shahrukh Shaikh presented to international students interested in continuing their education in the U.S. at the EducationUSA Center during their trip.
“As a global ambassador from UCCS, we got a chance to interact with students in India who are looking forward to coming to the United States for higher studies,” said Shaikh, who is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
Ruby Cheng, international services and recruitment coordinator in the Office of Admissions, created The Global Ambassador program. The program is recruiting international students and alumni who would like to present on UCCS in their home countries.
Cheng, who is also an international recruiter and former member of Education USA, said that the program was created to both increase UCCS’ global presence and give students and alumni the chance to travel abroad and build their own skills and abilities.
“One way to help UCCS increase their global presence is by sending alumni or international students to their home countries, so they can represent UCCS and share their experience with future students. I think that’s really powerful,” he said.
According to Chang, Jamal and Shaikh’s goal was to help students in India learn more about higher education in the U.S., scholarship opportunities and various programs.
“Their audience is usually high school students or college students who are looking for coming to study abroad in the U.S and their parents,” Cheng said.
Jamal, who is a master’s degree in computer science, was invited by the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai to attend an education fair in Indore, India. There, he will promote UCCS.
Jamal believes that this program would be valuable for students to take part in and help spread awareness of the resources UCCS can provide to students wishing to study abroad.
“I believe UCCS is looking for quality students to help prolonged the level of education they have here, and students who are interested in studying computer security can look forward to UCCS as an institution to attend,” he said.
Cheng approached Jamal during an orientation session and asked if he would be interested in joining this program. Both Jamal and Shaikh discussed how students pursue a higher education during their presentations.
“We started off with the basics, from taking the tests necessary to get admitted, to scholarships and financial assistance. Once you’re here, you will see how it is different from staying in India, life on campus and jobs on campus. We had a lot of topics and a lot of questions that we covered in both seminars,” said Shaikh.
Cheng recruits students through the Global Engagement Office’s international graduation and reception. Students who are interested can attend one of Cheng’s five information sessions to learn more about this program.
According to Jamal and Shaikh, they look forward to the next opportunity to travel abroad for the Global Ambassador Program.
For more information on the program, contact Ruby Cheng at [email protected].