PRESS RELEASES
40 Lebanese High School Students in the U.S. on Youth Exchange
and Study (YES) Program Scholarships
13 October 2004
Beirut- October 12, 2004 - U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman
announced today the opening of a scholarship competition to select
40 high school students to spend the 2005-06 academic year in the
United States. The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, financed
by the U.S. Government, is administered in Lebanon by AMIDEAST.
This is the third year students will travel from Lebanon to the
U.S. with the YES program. Nine Lebanese high school students returned
from the U.S. this summer after a year living with American host
families. They spoke enthusiastically at today's event about their
American year citing the experience as "life-changing"
and one that "widened their dreams" and taught them to
"be proud of who I am." Twenty-three Lebanese students
are currently in the U.S. participating in the program. They attend
high schools across the U.S., including Washington in the northwest,
California in the west, Midwestern South Dakota, Ohio and Idaho,
and in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Maine.
In announcing the YES competition, Ambassador Feltman explained,
"Students in the YES program will spend the year with carefully
selected American host families, enrolled in a full academic year
of high school study. YES students attend classes, labs and extracurricular
programs with their American classmates. They engage in special
enrichment activities, and learn first hand about the value we place
on community service, youth leadership, and civic participation."
Ambassador Feltman also noted that the goal for YES students was
that they will "develop a well-rounded understanding of American
culture through interaction with diverse groups of Americans….
But we also want Lebanon's YES students to be ambassadors, helping
Americans understand more about this country's rich and diverse
history and culture."
To be eligible for the YES program, students may be enrolled in
either public or private schools in Lebanon, currently in the brevet
or first secondary class, and aged 15-17 by August 1, 2005. Applications
are available at the AMIDEAST office, on the AMIDEAST website, and
at most secondary schools nationwide. The deadline to apply for
this scholarship is December 6, 2004. For further information, contact
AMIDEAST:
Phone: 01-98 99 01, Extension 162
Web: www.amideast.org/lebanon
In Person: Bazerkan Building, 1st floor, Riad El Solh, Nijmeh Square
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