Meet The Next Generation Of U.S. College Global Citizens Who Are Changing The World

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IES Abroad, a leading not-for-profit organization providing access to 125+ study abroad and internship programs in more than 35 cities around the world, announced today that seven U.S. college students have been recognized as part of its inaugural Global Citizen of the Year Awards. This is the first student-focused, study abroad honor of its kind.

The IES Abroad Global Citizen of the Year Award recognizes students who:

• Studied on a 2016 IES Abroad program
• Impacted their community abroad through academic, philanthropic or personal efforts
• Learned about themselves through cross-cultural interactions
• Will apply, or are applying, ­skills and knowledge learned abroad to continually bring global perspectives to their communities

IES Abroad received 54 inspiring submissions from its students across more than 40 different U.S. colleges. Honored students for the Global Citizen of the Year Award include:

Winner | IES Abroad Global Citizen of the Year

• Sydni Williams | Madrid–Language & Area Studies, Academic Year 2016-17 | University of Michigan

Finalists:

• Hannah Dallman | Cape Town–University of Cape Town, Spring 2016 | Gettysburg College
• John Luke Hawkins | Cape Town–University of Cape Town, Fall 2016 | Hope College
• Reed Foster | Buenos Aires–Advanced Spanish Immersion, Fall 2016 | Occidental College

Honorable Mentions: 

• Ileana Exaras | Vienna–Music, Spring 2016 | Lehigh University
• Sophia Iosue | European Society & Culture, Fall 2016 | Harvard University
• Alice Woods | Customized Program in Cape Town, Spring 2015, Spring 2016 | University of Miami

Global Citizen of the Year, Sydni Williams is a sophomore studying Neuroscience, Spanish Language and Writing at the University of Michigan. Currently studying abroad for the 2016-17 academic year with IES Abroad in Madrid, Williams' interned [through IES Abroad] at the Social Services Center of Los Yébenes in Madrid. She gained valuable hands-on experience mentoring and tutoring low-income students. Reflecting on her internship she realized how many other students in the world live with the same struggle, even those in her hometown of Detroit.

"I have made it my life goal to continuously contribute to my community by making sure that youth are not denied their right to an excellent education," said Williams.

Williams will return to the U.S. this summer to be a servant leader intern with the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School. She plans to continue to help inner-city youth and start a non-profit that will give youth who've made mistakes and faced criminal charges a second chance to succeed.  

Sydni Williams will receive a $1,000 prize.

"These student are the future leaders of our global economy," said Dr. Mary M. Dwyer, President and CEO of IES Abroad. "It's imperative that we encourage students to embrace cultures distinct from their own and to view the world through a different lens."

SOURCE IES Abroad

Related Links

http://www.iesabroad.org