By SMCC Communications Office
One of Ten Students Selected Nationwide Hassanwali Warsame, a second year student in liberal studies at Southern Maine Community College, has been selected as one of ten community college students from throughout the U.S. to participate in the Work Immersion Study Program (WISP) 2006. WISP is a three-month summer scholarship program that gives community college students the opportunity to study and gain practical work experience in the southern German state of Baden-Wüerttemberg.
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Hassanwali Warsame |
During a three-month stay in Germany, Warsame will complete one month of intensive language training in the south of Germany, and a two-month professional internship related to his field of study. The program includes an orientation seminar in New York City prior to departure for Germany, and a final evaluation seminar in Stuttgart at the end of the program.
“I am thrilled for Hassanwali,” said Debra Andrews, Director of SMCC’s Center for Global Opportunities. “The College has hosted German students through CDS International over the past three years, but this is the first time an SMCC student has applied for a scholarship to study in Germany.
Hassanwali put a lot of effort into his application process, and it’s great to see his work pay off. Without a doubt, his life will be forever changed through this study abroad experience.”
International travel will not be a new experience for Warsame.. A native of Somalia, he spent ten years as a refugee in Kenya. He came to Maine in 2001, and graduated Portland High School in 2004. He is multilingual, with fluency in Arabic and English, and a working knowledge of Spanish. He is currently taking Beginning German at SMCC.
“I hope to learn the culture of German society and to compare it with the one we have in Maine, so that I can prepare myself to work for an international organization,” Warsame wrote in his application for the scholarship. “I believe that I will give new ideas to my host company in Germany, and that I will gain new ideas from them.”
In addition to being a full-time student at SMCC, Warsame also works in the Portland office of Congressman Tom Allen.
WISP was created by CDS International, an international exchange and practical training organization based in New York City. The program is funded by the Baden-Wüerttemberg STIPENDIUM, a program of the Baden-Wüerttemberg Landesstiftung, a foundation that supports philanthropic causes in this southern German state.
SMCC Communications Office
