Visa
student scholarship deadline looms
By Yi-Fang Vicky Lin
On-line Forty-Niner
One
of the few scholarships that award visa
to students on campus will soon stop receiving
applications for fall 2003.
The $500 scholarship, provided by the International
Community Council of Long Beach since the
1980s, is awarded to three selected winners
every semester. The council not only offers
scholarship to the international students,
but also offers two domestic students to
participate in the Study Abroad Program
each semester.
“The most important thing is for students
to get the maximum out of their potential,”
said Simon George, president of the ICC.
“The major goal has been, and still is,
reaching the international students attending
our university for higher academic purposes.”
The council has long been actively involved
in assisting the international students
on campus by providing accommodation and
developing various types of cultural exchange
activities.
“The ICC assists international students
and visitors who are in the area because
of interests in education, recreation, business,
government or world trade. The organization
seeks to enhance global awareness and sensitivity
to the many diverse cultures in our community,”
George said.
The scholarship opportunity exists for both
undergraduate and graduate international
students, who must have attended Cal State
Long Beach for at least one semester and
will not be graduating prior to May 2003.
The applicant can be a student from all
majors with a minimum 2.5 GPA for undergraduates
and 3.25 GPA for graduates as the academic
requirement.
“The way that the process works is that
the students must submit their applications
with an essay, those are viewed primarily
by the council. The best group of people
will be selected, then we interview the
finalists and out of the finalists, we’ll
select three winners,” John D’Amicantonio,
a member of the ICC explained.
These potential candidates compete against
one another by their GPA, and more importantly,
students are required to have some level
of participation in activities and organizations
that reflect the interests of globalization
and cultural diversity.
According to D’Amicantonio, all applicants
need to prepare for the oral interview conduct
by the council members. The council also
considers presentations and public speech
abilities.
Some of the previous winners are students
from Africa, Indonesia, Germany, Japan,
Taiwan and Republic of China. The average
number of applications each semester is
about 12 to 20, said John Moutou, director
of International Student Service.
Each international student is currently
paying $282 per unit at CSULB. The tuition
is relatively high compared to the domestic
students’ tuitions.
Alvin Ooi, an international student from
Malaysia said that a $500 scholarship is
not really going to help him to pay the
tuition. Money is not the biggest motivation
for him to apply for the ICC scholarship.
“It is the honor from the winning that made
me want to give it a try, and definitely
this is going to be helpful with my resume,”
Ooi said. “If I am fortunate enough to win
the prize, I believe it will give me an
great opportunity to reach out the community
by getting involved with the ICC.”
The deadline for applying is Friday before
4 p.m. The Center of International Education
can be reached at (562) 985-4106 for further
information.
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