Students of the 100K Strong Grant Meet to Finalize Workshop

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JUN 14 '11  The group from SDSU may very well be one of, or possibly the most diverse group represented at the 2011 Youth Summit in Beijing this summer. They all come from different cultural backgrounds, walks of life, and distinct personalities so it is no wonder that the group is spread out at the moment in different places, three students in China, two from Calexico, one in Los Angeles, and the remaining in San Diego.  This factor has been one of the challenges of putting together a workshop with the difficulty of communicating with group members thousands of miles across the ocean. However, on June 13, 2011, five students were able to get together to buckle down and make further progress.  

Both groups, Environmental (Consumable Waste) Sustainability and Cultural Competence in China and US were able to put in some work to solidify the report and powerpoint presentation for the summit. The group was even able to bond and build camaraderie during the almost 5 hour meeting.

After a hard working meeting, the students went out to a late night dinner for Vietnamese pho. Dinner was largely spent on getting to know each other and building excitement over their entire month of July together in China. 


100K Working Meeting

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MAY 20 '11  For the second time, members of the 100,000 Strong SDSU group met, this time for a working meeting. In phase one of the summit, as 100K Strong Grantees, the group will have the honor to lead a workshop during the summit in Beijing where other students from all around the world, faculty from universities, senior officers from Government, and directors from  NGOs will be in attendance. These theme-based workshops will cover main topics such as Youth, Initiative, & Communication, Mission & UnionUN's MDG's, and lastly Green, Cooperation & Sustainability. 

Ryan Okamuro, Jeff Kaemmerling, Justin Alsamarrai, and Michael Sedurifa discussed how to organize the content and further elaborate on the material. Team SDSU will be presenting 2 topics, the first, 'Cultural Competence' and second, 'Environmental Sustainability'. Ultimately, these workshops will be edited into one thesis collection which will be published in EACT's website and submitted to government agencies, international organization (e.g., the UN, the World Bank, etc.) and educational institutes (e.g., participants' universitities). 

1st Group Meeting

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APR 28 '11  The 100 K group from San Diego State University and the Imperial Valley Campus met together in order to discuss the logistics and trip entirely. In attendance were Ha Tu, Michael Sedurifa, Ryan Okamuro, Justin Alsamarrai, Kamaal Ahsan Majeed, and Jeffrey Kaemmerling. Additionally, Norma Garcia and Kristian Salgado made the trek from SDSU's Imperial Valley Campus in Calexico with International Programs Coordinator, Miriam Castañon. The meeting began with a fun introduction in order for everyone to get aquainted. The members then drafted a plan of action together as well as went through a short orientation on what to expect. Discussed were the outlines for the presentations that are to be presented at the summit as well as delegating lesson plans for the summer camp program for the kids. Dr. Lilly Cheng joined the meeting in order to discuss the efforts towards fundraising for the trip. Another meeting is scheduled for July as a team building Day.


100,000 Strong Students Meet with SDSU Provost Nancy Marling

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APR 8 '11  Michael Sedurifa, Justin Alsamarrai, Jeffrey William Kaemmerling, and Ryan Okamuro, met with San Diego State University Provost Nancy A. Marlin at Manchester Hall to discuss the one-month long 2011 U.S.-China International Youth Festival from July to August, which is supported largely by the 100,000 Strong Grant. This grant is only awarded to 100 U.S. citizens, which comes in response to President Barack Obama’s 100,000 Strong Initiative of which 10 students were selected from SDSU and SDSU’s Imperial Valley Campus.

At the introduction of the 45 minute meeting, Michael and Jeffery introduced the overview of the program and went into detail about “phase one” of the program which consists of a three-day Global Development Youth Summit held in Beijing.  Since, there are 10 grantees from SDSU, the group will be split into two groups of 5 that will hold workshops regarding topics on “Ensuring Our Own Cultural Competence as Foreigners and Promoting Cultural Competence in China” as well as on “Sustainability.”  Youth participants will role play as host, coordinator, or presenter during the workshop.  At the end of the workshop, they will have the opportunity to network with renowned members from non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and universities. 

Later Justin and Ryan explained “phase two” of the initiate where students will be broken up into groups and sent to provinces such as Anhui, Chengdu, and Guangdong to host a 2 week summer camp.  The camp curriculum and activities are all developed by the SDSU students to promote the interest in learning English and culture.  The grantees have been formulating ideas around a traditional American camp which involves interactive learning activities such as having blind folded kids eat fruit and identify what it is.  Finally, during the last week, the grantees will take part in a scenic tour.  Throughout the whole program, students will have a photo, video, and written record which will be published for the UN and local universities.

Provost Marlin was very excited and gives her full support to the 10 students who will represent SDSU at the summit.  For funding opportunities, she has referred them to speak with the Associated Students and Paul Wong, the Dean of the Arts and Letters.