Dear Volunteers,
We are planning to hold a national volunteer call on January 14th at 8:30PM EST. We will review the MyAFS widget updates and showcase how to maximize these updates to help you understand your study abroad applicants and prepare for study abroad interviews. Members of our Study Abroad Advisory Group will be sharing how they use the widget in their regular volunteer work, and we will also have time to collaborate and share together. We encourage any volunteers interested in, or engaged in, Study Abroad with their team to attend and join the conversation!
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://afsusa.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdu-oqzwtHd3JvliEXoL68D9nLGcWsMlS
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Thank you!
Caitlin Schneider
P.S.
Have you considered becoming a scholarship judge for the 2025 Global STEM Academies?
AFS-USA is excited to offer more than 30 full-scholarships for the 2025 AFS Global STEM Academies – would you like to help us select the candidates by serving as a Scholarship Interview Judge? If so, sign-up HERE by January 15 and learn more about this opportunity below!
The AFS Global STEM Academies are full-scholarship summer programs that provide young scholars with immersive intercultural learning experiences centered on sustainability and STEM! Learn more about the program here – this year we will send students to Brazil, China, Egypt, and India.
These amazing programs received high satisfaction ratings from participants in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and are designed to empower young people to tackle some of the world’s largest sustainability issues. It’s judges like you who help us make it happen!
What’s Involved?
Judges will be asked to conduct virtual, 1-on-1 interviews for 3-5 semi-finalist candidates. We anticipate that each interview will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete.
Judges will be provided with an email template that they can send to each of their assigned candidates. This email will notify the candidate of their selection as a semi-finalist and request that they schedule their interview. Once scheduled, Judges will familiarize themselves with the 2025 AFS Global STEM Academies Interview Guide, which must be used when evaluating the candidates. If you choose to become a Scholarship Judge, all interview materials and instructions will be provided via email.
During the interview, Judges will record the candidates’ responses and any important evidence or comments in the fillable box below each question. After the interviews are complete, Judges must review and score the candidates’ responses in accordance with the grading rubric that will be included in the Interview Guide. AFS-USA will be interviewing students from the United States, United Kingdom, and Trinidad & Tobago.
When?
Candidate interviews will begin the week of January 20, 2025, and must be completed by or before Wednesday, February 5, 2025. If you are available for a few hours during those three weeks, we would love to have your help!
Questions?
If you have any questions about serving as a Scholarship Judge for candidate interviews for the summer 2025 Global STEM Academies program, please send an email to the Program Manager, Grace Alexander, at galexander@afsusa.org.
Thank you for your consideration!