The Education USA Alumni Roadshow has commenced its journey across four Indian cities, namely Guwahati, Kolkata, Patna, and Ranchi. The event is scheduled from November 4 to December 9, 2014. This initiative aims to motivate young students to consider higher education opportunities in the United States.
The roadshow began in Guwahati with an event featuring several notable figures including Joanne (JJ) Joria, Director of the American Center-Kolkata, and exchange alumni such as Aashna Doshi and Akash Prasad from West Bengal; Dzüvinguno Dorothy Chasie from Nagaland; Mahvish Rahman from Jharkhand; Tanzoom Afroz Ahmed from Assam; Zenith Lairikyengbam and Shanchui Marchang from Manipur. These individuals engaged with over 200 school and college students at a day-long program held at North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited, known as NEDFi House.
During the event, alumni shared their experiences of studying in U.S. educational institutions. They discussed various aspects of student life abroad including campus life, extracurricular activities, holidays and festivals celebrated, dormitory living conditions, grading systems, making friends, maintaining connections with family back home, food experiences, community service involvement, and other anecdotes related to studying abroad.
The U.S. Consulate Kolkata hopes that through these programs it can establish a long-term relationship with U.S. State Department Exchange alumni from eastern and northeastern India who have participated in various exchange programs such as the Study of the U.S. Institute for Scholars (SUSI), Community College Initiative Program (CCI), Youth Exchange and Study (YES), and Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program (NESA UGRAD).
JJ Joria also moderated the interactive session in Guwahati and addressed the press on the sidelines of the event.