Introducing Students to Global Affairs and International Careers
As the saying goes, the world is getting smaller thanks to technology! Our Education and Career Coach (ECC) team at CIS is working to introduce high school students to International and Global careers and technology for global networking.
The team has planned a three-part series that kicked off this past fall with “Charlotte’s International Secrets,” a webinar for students in coordination with the City of Charlotte that featured local business leaders from the international/global sector.
Next up in February was an exciting ZOOM event to connect our students with students in Nigeria! CIS partnered with Technology Academy Global (TAG) and Troy Pelshak, a global project manager and consultant with offices in Charlotte and in Abuja, Nigeria to arrange this opportunity.
“Our students loved this opportunity to meet with students in Nigeria to have conversations around higher education, technology and networking,” said Renee’ Leak, CIS Director of Program Operations for our ECC team. “We had nearly 60 students log on, which was fantastic, because our scholars are pretty burned out on zooming and virtual events, but this was different and exciting to them.”
Leak said it was the same for the Nigerian students, who were just as eager to participate. Due to the 6-hour time difference, the Zoom time for the Nigerian students was 10 pm to 12 am (Charlotte time was 4-6 pm). “Many of the Nigerian students went to their school that night to log on, as they had better computers and internet connection there than at home. Some of them spent the night on the floor at the school because they were enjoying it so much and didn’t want to log off! It really was a phenomenal experience for all the students.”
For the final program in the series, the ECC team is partnering with UNC-Charlotte to introduce students to the Model UN (United Nations) program, as well as other opportunities to study abroad. College students in Model UN programs learn about international topics and concerns and get to role-play as delegates to the UN. They participate in conferences simulating the United Nations with other Model UN delegates from other universities, working together to develop diplomatic solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
“We want to expose our scholars to many different careers and higher educational opportunities, including those beyond Charlotte and North Carolina,” said Leak. “With today’s technology, the sky is the limit. We want our students to think more globally and be aware of the many possibilities available to them.”
