College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU is hosting its third student as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan (Global UGRAD-Pakistan).

Bareera Nadeem Mirza, a civil engineering student from Pakistan, is spending the fall semester at WKU taking engineering classes and learning about life and culture in the United States.

The engineering courses will transfer to her program at NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi. “I have always wanted to be a civil engineer,” she said. “I’m also taking a political science class because I wanted to take a look at American policies.”

She also has been involved with the WKU Habitat for Humanity Student Chapter. “WKU is amazing,” Mirza said.

The Global UGRAD-Pakistan program, which places participants at U.S. colleges and universities, allows talented, highly motivated undergraduate students from underserved populations across Pakistan to spend one semester at a U.S. college or university. Global UGRAD-Pakistan is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is implemented by IREX (the International Research & Exchanges Board).

Through semester-long academic study, exploration of U.S. culture, participation in community service projects and interactions with Americans in their host communities and campuses, Global UGRAD-Pakistan students develop an understanding of American culture and values, and go on to share this understanding of the United States with friends, family, fellow students and others upon their return to Pakistan as well as in their future careers. Global UGRAD-Pakistan students also enrich the learning experience for American students by sharing their unique perspectives and backgrounds.

“We are proud that WKU was chosen again as a host institution,” said Ashley Givan, International Student & Scholar Advisor in WKU International Enrollment Management. “We are getting really good students like Bareera.”

In the spring 2018 semester, WKU will welcome its fourth student as part of Global UGRAD-Pakistan, Givan said.

Contact: Ashley Givan, (270) 745-2319