U.S. Consulate Karachi’s Public Diplomacy Officer Anamaria Karrels takes a photo at the University of Larkana outreach
Last quarter, our team members from the Programs department and EducationUSA traveled across Pakistan, from Jamshoro in Sindh to Mardan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, to talk to high school, undergraduate and graduate students about higher education opportunities in the United States. The topics of presentations ranged from identifying best fit universities and securing financial aid to the prestigious Fulbright program and other U.S. Government-funded scholarships. In total, over 8000 students attended these sessions.
A year like no other
Many of the visits to public and private universities were a part of the regular annual outreach, but this year, our team decided to go the extra mile. Sessions were held in not just larger cities but also places like Okara, Vehari, Bhurewala, Pattoki, Mardan, Khairpur, and Sukkur.
“It’s important to reach underserved areas and this year we made it happen,” said EducationUSA Pakistan Senior Adviser Aman Bashir. “The Lahore team made sure we reached high schools in smaller towns, such as Pattoki, that have never been visited before. One thing’s clear: there’s no dearth of talent anywhere. We met great prospective students all across the region.”
EducationUSA Pakistan Senior Adviser Shiza Toor agreed.
“We loved meeting students from across Sindh. There’s nothing like face-to-face interaction,” said Toor. “It was also great to be included in many Fulbright outreach sessions. Our Programs department visited many public and private universities to share valuable information about not just Fulbright, but also Global UGRAD, the Humphrey Fellowship, and FLTA, and we elaborated on EducationUSA’s role and how we could help.
An outreach session at Women University Mardan (WUM) was attended by over 200 students. Here, USEFP representatives called upon Vice Chancellor Dr. Safia Ahmad who was very appreciative of the opportunities brought to her institution’s female students whom she identified as some of the most underserved women in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. Dr. Ahmad is currently serving as the vice chancellor of WUM as an additional charge, while holding the permanent charge as vice chancellor of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar.
All in all, around 3612 prospective students attended the sessions in Punjab, 1447 in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 3720 in Sindh.
