College of DuPage Hosts Meet and Greet for CCI Program Students

Sixteen international students from the 2016-2017 U.S. State Department's Community College Initiative (CCI) Program recently gathered to celebrate the program and meet their "social hosts," members of the community, as well as COD staff and faculty who have volunteered to share their time with the students while they are in the U.S.

Visit the COD Newsroom's Flickr page to see photos of the event.

"Social hosts commit one or two days a month to spend time with the student, which may include activities like taking part in a home-cooked meal, a local outing or an invitation to a holiday or family celebration," said CCI Program Coordinator Nicole Spizzirri, "The social hosts are asked to teach students about local, regional and national cultures to help them understand the American society and the value placed on diversity. They are the link that provides these students with an all-American experience and this relationship often results in lasting friendships."

While at COD, the students will pursue studies in workforce development fields and participate in professional internships, service learning and community engagement activities.

South African student Bongiwe "Bongi" Nkomo is pursuing studies in early childhood education while at College of DuPage. Before coming to COD, Nkomo studied early childhood education at Further Education and Training College, business management at Rosebank College and integrated waste management through the Department of Environmental Affairs.

She said she is pleased with the program and honored to be a part of it.

"Being a part of the CCI Program is really a privilege," she said. "This experience provides a great opportunity to help my community."

Upon her return to South Africa, Nkomo plans to continue her education and said she will attend school part-time as she plans to open her own Early Childhood Education Center.

"In my country, there is suffering and high unemployment," she said. "I want to help people and be a benefit to the developing community there."

Akash Prasad, from Kolkata, India, is pursuing studies in media with an interest in graphic design. Before coming to COD, he had completed two years toward his B.S. degree in India.

Prasad said he is thrilled with his experiences in the CCI Program.

"This experience is not only a great opportunity, it's also a responsibility," Prasad said. "We represent the program to our home countries and carry the responsibility to show what the program is all about. It's also not just about academics, it's about professional development through hands-on internships and service learning, as well as personal development through community service and volunteering."

Prasad said he's always had an interest in the media and graphic design but would not have had the opportunity to pursue studies in those fields in India. He said that after completing the CCI Program, he plans to return to India to finish his B.S. degree and, with the help of the graphic design certificate he'll earn at COD, start his journey toward one day working for the Discovery Network.

Administered by Northern Virginia Community College, the CCI Program provides underserved and underrepresented students from around the world with full scholarships that cover housing, tuition and a monthly stipend for one academic year of study at community colleges across the U.S. The program is designed to build participants' technical skills in applied fields, enhance their leadership capabilities, and strengthen their English language proficiency and serves to expand the awareness of open access to education at community colleges. College of DuPage joined the program in 2011 as a member of the Community College Consortium made up of nine community colleges across the U.S.

For the past four years, COD has been one of the consortium partners to receive 16 students through the CCI Program. This year's picnic was sponsored by Church of DuPage, with food provided by Chik-fil-A. Participants include students from Bangladesh, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey.

For more information about the Community College Initiative Program, contact Spizzirri at spizzirrin@cod.edu or (630) 942-2356; contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at ECA-Press@state.gov or (202) 632-6452; or visit www.exchanges.state.gov.