1. A Step Towards World Peace

   

   "I got to know more about [the people I met here], their culture, their history, the things they believed, and because of this, I understand [now] why they behave the way they do. I think it is a very important step towards world peace." - Francisca, from India on the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program.

2. Learning a Language and Making Personal Connections

   CLS Participant Makes Personal Connections While Learning a Language

3. A Lesson in Politics and Compassion

   It’s just amazing to learn how the government works here. I was a legislative page for two weeks in the state legislature and that was something I never imagined.

4. Empowered to Live Life to the Fullest

   The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) stands as an advocate for the universal rights of all persons around the world. ECA’s EMPOWER Programs, a series of four separate two-way international exchanges, aim to put disability rights at the heart of our nation’s public diplomacy efforts.

5. Meeting with International Visitors Is Just the Beginning for New York Couple

   Exchanges cultural and professional ideas through the International Visitor Leadership Program

6. Chance Encounters Lead to New Possibilities for Yolanda

   “I need to do something!” Rueda said to the U.S. Ambassador to Spain after meeting him at a volunteer award conference. “ The ambassador, taken by Yolanda’s passion to help others, recommended her for a VolVis International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Just a few months later, Yolanda came to the United States on a volunteerism and social innovation-focused IVLP with another Spanish colleague.

7. No Longer Scared of Dreaming Big: March Madness Makes for an Empowering Experience

   Belia was one of six female coaches to join 18 teenage girls from around the world for a multi-country basketball exchange.

8. A Different Side of Brazil

   Upon arriving to Brazil my expectations were to meet open hearted people, encounter a unique culture, and see famous landmarks and beaches. While all of these things proved to be true, my exchange experience surpassed what I imagined in the most remarkable ways.

9. Young Southeast Asian Leader Works to Protect the Environment

   

   Young Southeast Asian Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) alumna Quy Nguyễn from Vietnam discusses her experience as part of the 2015 YSEALI program that focused on global environmental issues.

10. Dr. Liliya Hrynevych

    First Name

    Liliya

    Participant Headshot

    

    Short Biography

    

     

    Content created by Virtual Intern  Adelle Barkhuizen

    Dr. Liliya Hrynevych, a Ukrainian educator, politician, former Member of Parliament, and ex-Minister of Education and Science, has devoted her career to eliminating corruption in and developing the Ukrainian education system.

    Through her visit to the United States on the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), Dr. Hrynevych immersed herself in American culture and history leading her to re-evaluate how she approached her own work in Ukraine. She took particular note of the issues that arose because of educational policies and the importance of transparency and integrity in universities. During her exchange, Dr. Hrynevych recognized the value of ensuring that quality education is available to people across Ukraine.

    Since returning to Ukraine, Dr. Hrynevych advanced fundamental reforms in Ukrainian secondary and higher education and introduced standardized testing to decrease corruption in admissions to higher education institutions. Dr. Hrynevych also initiated the first reform of secondary education since Ukrainian independence, improving the quality of education across Ukraine in rural and urban schools. She has actively promoted academic integrity and been a crucial advocate for legislation to reduce corruption, plagiarism, and cheating in Ukrainian education and science. Additionally, Dr. Hrynevych was instrumental in adding media literacy as a core subject in the Ukrainian education curriculum.

    The impact of her work in education reform was documented in a sociological study showing a decrease in corruption at the entry-level of higher educational institutes and, in her own words, "the introduction of a transparent admission process in Ukraine is considered one of the most successful educational reforms and is supported by 70% of the population."

    Dr. Liliya Hrynevych is an education innovator who has made higher education more accessible to Ukrainian students and brought the Ukrainian education system more in line with western standards.

    Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra

     

    Home Country

    Russia

    Last name

    Hrynevych

    IVLP Alumni

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