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Windward Community College

UH Windward Community College was recently selected by the U.S. Department of State and Partners of the Americas as one of 18 colleges and universities, out of an applicant pool of 160, to receive a capacity building grant for undergraduate study abroad. The $50,000 award provides funds to expand Windward CC’s capacity to create and administer a new study abroad program and to diversify the students who study abroad.

Study abroad is a transformative experience that provides young Americans with the skills and knowledge they need to contribute to a global society, solve global challenges, and compete in a global economy. Windward’s project, the Foothold Abroad Initiative, seeks to establish a “foothold” for Windward CC students by partnering with the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in New Zealand to create two new short-term programs designed specifically for Windward CC students in any discipline. It hopes to have approximately 40 students participate in the first year. Windward’s new week-long study abroad programs will tentatively be available to University of Hawaiʻi students during the March 2017 spring break.

The Foothold Abroad Initiative will be led by Sarah Hadmack and Nick Logue, both Windward CC faculty members and representatives of the college’s International Education Committee. Dean of Academic Affairs Charles Sasaki will serve as principal investigator.

“International study abroad can be logistically difficult and expensive and can sometimes remain out of the realm of possibility for many community college students,” Sasaki said. “We’re so pleased that our proposal to fit a compressed study abroad experience into spring break was selected for funding. It’s our hope that we’ll be able to make international learning more accessible for our students.”

—By Bonnie Beatson

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