Lee Iacocca Global Village leadership
Donation protected
Every once in awhile, we are lucky to meet someone special in need of assistance & be able to help them, in small or large ways.
I have done so in small ways for 32 years as an exchange student representative in NW Michigan. This one is the biggest 'way' I have attempted.
Aidai Amankulova, of Kyrgyzstan, is one of those people in need of assistance. Even a modest donation will make a big difference.
She is one of 70 international young business people from 40 countries selected to attend a 5-week full scholarship to the Lee Iacocca Global Village Leadership Program in Bethlehem, PA.
Aidai needs $2,500 to cover her plane ticket, shorty-term medical insurance & J-1 visa. She cannot accept the scholarship unless she has the plane ticket, insurance & visa paid for by May 7. Major typo here. I originally typed 17th for due date. It is MAY 7. Sorry!!
The link to helping Aidai is: https://www.gofundme.com/lee-iacocca-global-village-leadership
Her scholarship does not cover this or any transportation, laundry costs (I was unaware of this until today), or meals which I estimate to be an extra $500.00. She is working part-time jobs in her village to save some money, but there are not enough jobs. Her family is not at all affluent & cannot help her to the needed extent.
Aidai was a scholarship exchange student in my FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange, supported by the U.S. Department of State) five years ago. I was her Michigan FLEX area representative.
Aidai stood out from the group from the beginning. She worked hard to improve her English, working with a tutor to learn beyond what was taught in a public school in Kyrgyzstan, rather than relying on immersion in the U.S. She earned B+/A grades at Traverse City Central High.
While a high school student, she earned a scholarship to attend a five-day seminar in Washington DC based on outstanding grades and essays on what she hoped to contribute & gain from that experience.
Aidai planned to go into business in the future so she volunteered 100+ hours at the non-profit State Theatre in Traverse City to learn from the ground up. She collected tickets, worked the concession stand cash register, selling popcorn, soft drinks and candy. She was responsible for cleaning up everything between movies, including the aisles. You may have seen her there.
Adult supervisors described her as “very reliable. We can always count on to to arrive on time and do an excellent job without close supervision. The cash drawer always balanced.”
I have made it a point to maintain contact with Aidai since she returned to Talus. She earned a full one-semester scholarship at Utica College where she earned a 3.93 GPA & learned more about American business. She worked at a private summer camp in 2017 as an interim team leader, taking over when the director became ill.
Aidai worked in the business office, arranging staff schedules. She also taught English, chess and led Kyrgyz parent discussions. Aidai is now a Kyrgyz university graduate, looking to go into the education field.
Her goal is to change the current former-Soviet style of education which is still in use & give people knowledge of career possibilities rather than being "locked in" to a choice made by 10th grade.
"Neither parents nor the Ministry of Education realize the significance of this issue. As a result, students hate their majors, hide their diplomas under a pillow & look for a job abroad. They simply cannot get further education at this stage, yet an educated person is an asset for any country. This was clearer after I studied in the USA, which opened me to new insights as I observed & experienced a vastly different education system in a developed country."
She worked as an intern for American Councils last year, presenting opportunities to potential scholarship students in international education and learning the business of the student educational exchange.
Aidai is familiar with Kyrgyz economics and is planning to employ the business techniques she will learn at the highly-selective Iacocca Global Village at Lehigh University and apply them in the Kyrgyz education system.
I know she will put 110% into learning business strategies that will strengthen her goal of helping her country's educational system through learning leadership skills. I trust and respect her for her work ethic & high standards. This is her last chance to accomplish further education. It is mandatory on this scholarship that she return to her country for a minimum of full two years to put what she has learned into practice.
Please join me in assisting Aidai in reaching her goal. Thank you for your consideration of assistance.
Sincerely,
Olave Russell - FLEX area representative
I have done so in small ways for 32 years as an exchange student representative in NW Michigan. This one is the biggest 'way' I have attempted.
Aidai Amankulova, of Kyrgyzstan, is one of those people in need of assistance. Even a modest donation will make a big difference.
She is one of 70 international young business people from 40 countries selected to attend a 5-week full scholarship to the Lee Iacocca Global Village Leadership Program in Bethlehem, PA.
Aidai needs $2,500 to cover her plane ticket, shorty-term medical insurance & J-1 visa. She cannot accept the scholarship unless she has the plane ticket, insurance & visa paid for by May 7. Major typo here. I originally typed 17th for due date. It is MAY 7. Sorry!!
The link to helping Aidai is: https://www.gofundme.com/lee-iacocca-global-village-leadership
Her scholarship does not cover this or any transportation, laundry costs (I was unaware of this until today), or meals which I estimate to be an extra $500.00. She is working part-time jobs in her village to save some money, but there are not enough jobs. Her family is not at all affluent & cannot help her to the needed extent.
Aidai was a scholarship exchange student in my FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange, supported by the U.S. Department of State) five years ago. I was her Michigan FLEX area representative.
Aidai stood out from the group from the beginning. She worked hard to improve her English, working with a tutor to learn beyond what was taught in a public school in Kyrgyzstan, rather than relying on immersion in the U.S. She earned B+/A grades at Traverse City Central High.
While a high school student, she earned a scholarship to attend a five-day seminar in Washington DC based on outstanding grades and essays on what she hoped to contribute & gain from that experience.
Aidai planned to go into business in the future so she volunteered 100+ hours at the non-profit State Theatre in Traverse City to learn from the ground up. She collected tickets, worked the concession stand cash register, selling popcorn, soft drinks and candy. She was responsible for cleaning up everything between movies, including the aisles. You may have seen her there.
Adult supervisors described her as “very reliable. We can always count on to to arrive on time and do an excellent job without close supervision. The cash drawer always balanced.”
I have made it a point to maintain contact with Aidai since she returned to Talus. She earned a full one-semester scholarship at Utica College where she earned a 3.93 GPA & learned more about American business. She worked at a private summer camp in 2017 as an interim team leader, taking over when the director became ill.
Aidai worked in the business office, arranging staff schedules. She also taught English, chess and led Kyrgyz parent discussions. Aidai is now a Kyrgyz university graduate, looking to go into the education field.
Her goal is to change the current former-Soviet style of education which is still in use & give people knowledge of career possibilities rather than being "locked in" to a choice made by 10th grade.
"Neither parents nor the Ministry of Education realize the significance of this issue. As a result, students hate their majors, hide their diplomas under a pillow & look for a job abroad. They simply cannot get further education at this stage, yet an educated person is an asset for any country. This was clearer after I studied in the USA, which opened me to new insights as I observed & experienced a vastly different education system in a developed country."
She worked as an intern for American Councils last year, presenting opportunities to potential scholarship students in international education and learning the business of the student educational exchange.
Aidai is familiar with Kyrgyz economics and is planning to employ the business techniques she will learn at the highly-selective Iacocca Global Village at Lehigh University and apply them in the Kyrgyz education system.
I know she will put 110% into learning business strategies that will strengthen her goal of helping her country's educational system through learning leadership skills. I trust and respect her for her work ethic & high standards. This is her last chance to accomplish further education. It is mandatory on this scholarship that she return to her country for a minimum of full two years to put what she has learned into practice.
Please join me in assisting Aidai in reaching her goal. Thank you for your consideration of assistance.
Sincerely,
Olave Russell - FLEX area representative
Organizer
Olave Walker Russell
Organizer
Traverse City, MI