Northwest College is welcoming international student Seema Afzal to campus as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan (Global UGRAD-Pakistan).

The Global UGRAD-Pakistan program places participants at U.S. colleges and universities for one semester of non-degree academic study. It’s part of a broader U.S. Department of State effort to promote greater understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries.

Since the program’s inception in 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan has provided nearly 1,800 undergraduate student leaders from underserved populations across Pakistan with the opportunity to study at a U.S. college or university.

Through semester-long academic study, exploration of U.S. culture, participation in community service projects and interactions with Americans in their host communities and campuses, Global UGRAD-Pakistan participants develop expertise in their academic fields, gain a broad and nuanced understanding of American culture and values, and go on to share this understanding of the U.S. with their communities when they return home, program leaders say. Throughout the past nine years, participants have volunteered more than 36,000 hours of service in communities across the U.S.

Global UGRAD-Pakistan participants share their unique viewpoints and backgrounds and bring a global perspective to their host communities. These ties endure, programs leaders say, with more than 95 percent of program alumni maintaining relationships with Americans they met while in the U.S.

For more information about the program, visit www.irex.org/ugrad-pakistan.