Introducing the 2022-2023 CCI Program Participants

Throughout late July and August, the Community College Initiative (CCI) Program welcomed 157 participants from 16 countries to the United States to participate in the program’s 15^th year. This year, participants represent Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Turkey. In addition, four Ukrainian participants continue in the CCI program from last year.

During the 2022-2023 program year, participants will focus on fields of study including agriculture, business management and administration, early childhood education, applied engineering, information technology, media, social services, health and public safety, and tourism and hospitality management. This year will also feature a special cohort of participants studying media literacy at the College of DuPage.

The CCI consortium for this year consists of ten community college campuses throughout nine states. Host colleges include the College of DuPage in Illinois, Fox Valley Technical College in Wisconsin, Houston Community College in Texas, Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona, Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria and Annandale Campuses in Virginia, Sinclair Community College in Ohio, Valencia College in Florida.

Furthermore, while completing academic coursework at their host colleges, participants will immerse themselves within their host communities and engage in a variety of volunteer activities, professional internships, cultural exchange events, and leadership workshops. This year, participants are tasked with creating a Community Impact Project – a project that will directly address an issue in their hosting community. The hope is that these culturally immersive and professional development experiences will enhance the CCI program participants’ understanding of their field of study and allow for deeper engagement with U.S. society and culture.

Program participants have an exciting array of culturally immersive events and experiences to look forward to! For starters, in September, participants will be exposed to the American value of volunteerism by joining the 9/11 Day of Service in their host communities. In November, participants will learn about Thanksgiving traditions across the United States and will host and take part in International Education Week events on their campuses, respectively. During the winter break, participants will take part in a multiday leadership event. These events are a small sampling of the fall semester, there will be plenty more to come in the spring as well.

In closing, we are so excited for CCI Program participants to dive into their exchange year. We look forward to supporting them as they set out to accomplish their goals and aspirations throughout the year!