Four Lithuanian secondary school students were awarded scholarships to study in the United States yesterday by U.S. Ambassador Anne E. Derse. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius was on hand to congratulate them as well. The students--two from Vilnius, one from Kaunas, and one from Šiauliai--were chosen on the basis of academic merit and English fluency from among 12 finalists, out of 130 who applied for the U.S. Embassy’s new ExCEL scholarship program (ExCEL stands for Exchanges for Culture, Education, and Leadership).
The four students are Gabrielė Uršulė Bartosevičiūtė of the Vilniaus J. Basanavičiaus vidurinė mokyla, Eleonora Lekavičiūtė of the Kauno jėzuitų gimnazija, Gabrielė Papievytė of the Vilniaus jėzuitų gimnazija, and Andrius Sakalauskas of the Didždvaris gimnazija in Šiauliai. They will spend the full 2010-2011 academic year living with host families in the United States while attending their tenth year of secondary school.
“I was an American Field Service exchange student in France when I was 16,” said Ambassador Derse. “That extraordinary experience changed my life and convinced me that high school educational exchange is one of the best ways to build mutual understanding and lasting ties between people.” She also thanked Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius for his support for educational exchange to maintain the historically strong ties between our people and our countries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Kubilius reminded the audience of the recent 700 million LTL deal between American and Lithuanian biotechnology firms Thermo Fisher Scientific and Fermentas International--the largest in Lithuanian history. This shows, said the Prime Minister, that “in Lithuania, it is much more profitable to invest in education, science, and research, than to invest in trade or some other ordinary business. So, I am so happy when I see those four young students. Investment from both sides--from the U.S. and from Lithuania--will bring benefits, not only personally to them, but also to Lithuania.” He told the students that, “I’m very happy with this program, not only because I trust that you will have the same success that Fermentas did, but also because it will bring us cooperation and a feeling of community with the people of the United States of America, which is such a great value.”
The ExCEL program will be administered by the American Councils for International Education, a nongovernmental organization with over 30 years of experience in the field of educational exchange. The ExCEL program is funded this year by donations from Lithuanian and American corporations, including Strategic Staffing Solutions and Fermentas International; individuals, including Dr. John Prunskis of the Lithuanian American Community and former President Adamkus and Mrs. Adamkiene; and the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy plans to work with donors interested in supporting educational exchange to expand the program next year, sending more Lithuanian students to the U.S. and bringing American students to study in Lithuania. The program may also be expanded to include university level exchanges in the future.