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Sharing Exchange Lessons: Pre-Departure and Re-Entry Orientation in Senegal

U S  Ambassador To Senegal Jim Zumwalt Together With Recently Returned Yes Alumni And Yes Students At The Welcome Goodbye Event At The U S  Embassy

By Seynabou Camara, YES 2011-2012, Senegal, hosted by CCI Greenheart in Augusta, GA

This year in Senegal, the re-entry seminar for recently returned alumni and the pre-departure orientation to prepare participants prior to leaving for the U.S. were organized together on August 2-5. The combined event was beneficial to both the alumni and the new students, offering them a chance to meet and share experiences and expectations at the trainings. The students going to the U.S. asked the recently returned alumni about their exchange year during an alumni panel and talked informally during meals. Both groups also met U.S. Ambassador to Senegal Jim Zumwalt at a ceremony for the YES students and alumni at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar. The informal time together was especially beneficial for the YES students, helping them to alleviate fears and concerns about living and going to school in the U.S. 

The re-entry training started with a welcome speech from the YES Program Country Representative in Senegal and the Alumni Coordinator. Throughout various sessions, alumni shared their experiences in the U.S. and talked about what it was like to be back home and readjusting to one’s own culture. It was a great opportunity for them to share their concerns and issues related to their families and friends, and the Senegalese community in general.

U S  Ambassador To Senegal Jim Zumwalt Presenting A Certifficate Of The Completion Of The Yes Program

That evening, the recently returned alumni held an alumni panel for the YES students, during which, they shared their most important YES program advice and gave the students the opportunity to ask questions. One of the alumni participants noted that sharing during the alumni panel was helpful, even therapeutic, as it “helped me express many things I can’t share with people who have not taken part in such a life-changing exchange.”

The following day, the U.S. Embassy invited the alumni and the students to a Welcome/Goodbye ceremony with U.S. Ambassador in Senegal James Zumwalt and the Cultural and Public Affairs Officers. During the ceremony, the YES alumni received certificates of completion from the Ambassador and in return, three alumni pinned the future YES students with a Senegalese/American flag. Three YES alumni gave speeches about their experience in the U.S. and advised the students to “be ready to answer a lot of questions and consider those occasions as opportunities to represent Senegal in the U.S. and also promote mutual understanding.”  

Recently Returned Yes Alumnus Shares Advice For A Successful Year With Yes Students

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