On Thursday, April 18, U.S. Ambassador Greta C. Holtz attended a charity event called “We

Will Make a Wish for You” organized for orphans by alumni of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth

Exchange and Study (YES) Program. The event was a fun day out for the orphans at the Qurum

Natural Park in Muscat where they had the chance to do a lot of fun activities, like hair-spray, face

painting, henna drawing, and music and talent shows by alumni. Ambassador Holtz talked to the kids and

learned about their dreams and hopes in life and praised the alumni for such a great initiative that had a

good impact on individuals and society. The initiative came out after a group of YES alumni visited and

helped orphans at the Oman Care Center and decided to give back to their community by bringing joy

to the orphans. This event aims to raise awareness about orphans and encourage others to help give

them support and happiness.

State Alumni Voice A monthly newsletter published by the U.S. Embassy in Muscat

sfs

Alumni News

YES Alumni Organize a Charity Event for Orphans

TEA Alumna Organizes an English Fun Day at School

A recent alumna of the State Department’s

Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program

(TEA), Muna Al Alawi, organized an English Open

Day at her school, Aiysha Al Rasbiya in Muscat, and

invited speakers from other schools and institutions

to participate. Another English language teacher,

Maryam Al Kindi, from the same school, gave a

presentation about the American English Website

and the educational video game Trace Effects.

The PAS office in the U.S. Embassy in Muscat recently hosted Mrs. Anu Bhardwaj, a 2008 US Fulbright

Fellow to the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and a frequent speaker on issues like women in

private equity and high-growth women entrepreneurs, as a speaker of opportunity to Oman. Mrs. Anu

gave presentations and workshops titled “Women’s Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurship” to different

women audiences varying from female Access alumni (17-19 years old), business and economic female

students at colleges and universities to Omani businesswomen and entrepreneurs. The speaker program

aimed to raise awareness among Omani women of the important role they can play in an economically

developing country and to equip them with the basic concepts and tools to face the future challenges

from personal budgeting and investments to starting off their own companies. The program included

visits to Access host schools in Muscat and Nizwa, Bayan College, University of Nizwa, Modern College

of Business & Science and AMIDEAST.

Access Alumni Attend Workshop on “Women Financial Literacy”

Access Program Students Speak about their “Access” Experience

Muscat Access students invited Program Officer Isaac Reynolds and Muscat Access instructor Jacob

Reingold to an all-school morning announcement presentation on April 9 at Zainab Thaqaffiyah School in

Ma’abela. Organized solely by Access students from two schools who asked permission to travel

together for the presentation, Isaac and Jacob were interviewed in front of approximately 700 students

about their roles in the Access Program. Following the interviews, Access students presented personal

testimonies about their experiences in Access, including specifically thanking their teacher Jacob for his

hard work and dedication to their class. Following the presentation, Isaac and Jacob took photographs

with Access students and interacted with the school’s English teachers—many of whom expressed

praise for their students’ progress in the Access Program.

On Saturday, April 13, the U.S. Embassy in cooperation with AMIDEAST Office in Muscat and

the Ministry of Education organized a workshop for Access alumni in the southern city of

Salalah. A group of English Access Microscholarship Program alumni attended the workshop

and learned a number of necessary skills, like “SMART” goals setting, career development

planning, resume writing and job interview skills. This workshop is part of a series of Career

Development Workshops funded by the U.S. Embassy. The program aims to enhance the young

generation’s understanding of the importance of career planning and course of study decisions

at an early stage in life. These workshops have continued since December 2012 in four major

cities in Oman: Muscat, Nizwa, Sohar and Salalah.

Embassy News

Access Alumni Attend Workshop on Career Planning

U.S. Ambassador Tea Gathering with Alumni in Sohar

The U.S. ambassador Greta C. Holtz hosted a tea gathering for alumni of U.S. educational exchange

programs and U.S. sponsored English Language students. This first of its kind gathering of U.S. alumni in

Sohar, ranging from high school students to senior educators, produced a fruitful discussion about

“education for employment” and training opportunities for students in the Sohar region. The

Ambassador also visited the Al Karama School to meet with local educators and students who

participate in the U.S. government’s Access English language program.

U.S. Ambassador Greta C. Holtz hosted a reception to honor Dr. Salma al Kindy, Professor of

Chemistry at Sultan Qaboos University, as Oman’s recipient of the State Department’s award for

outstanding female scientists. Dr. Al Kindi is only the second Omani to be inducted and was the first

female professor at Sultan Qaboos University. A group of SQU students who won the regional science

competition recently and some access alumni also participated in the reception.

On April 27 PAS participated in the 17th English

and Translation Society (ETS) Open Day at

Sultan Qaboos University. The Open Day is a

popular annual event at SQU and many students

from the university and other universities and

colleges attend every year. The English and

Translation Society is the largest student

organization at SQU that organizes frequent

educational and cultural activities. The event

highlighted the society’s accomplishments in

2012/2013 and included workshops and

competitions for students. PAS participated in

the exhibition with materials about studying and living in the U.S., as well as IIP publications and posters.

A lot of SQU students and visitors learned about the various exchange programs provided by the U.S.

Embassy in Oman. To read about Embassy exchange programs, visit:

http://oman.usembassy.gov/educational-exchange.html

Women in Science Reception

Embassy Participates in (ETS) Open Day at SQU

My name is Muna Al-ALawi, an English senior teacher at Aysha Al-Rasbiah School in Muscat. I have

participated in the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program for Secondary School Teachers in the

spring of 2013 and my host institution was George Washington University in Virginia. The (TEA)

program was a great opportunity to gain comprehensive knowledge about modern English language

teaching methodologies, approaches and best practices in the U.S. and worldwide. It also equipped me

with a deeper understanding and necessary skills related to curriculum development, lesson planning,

teaching strategies and the use of technology in the classroom. The program also gave me the chance to

learn about the U.S. culture, meet with American educators from everywhere and share with them

information about Oman, and visit a number of American educational institutions and famous attractions

in the U.S. Also, I met a lot of English Teachers from different countries and we exchanged a lot of ideas

about teaching and now I have many friends from around the world and we are in touch to continue

helping each other. After this experience, I plan to apply some of the great ideas and practices I have

learned during my exchange program. I encourage all Omani teachers to take advantage of this chance

and apply for this valuable program.

For more info on the TEA program visit: http://oman.usembassy.gov/exchange_12042010.html

Abdullah Al Matani, alum of E-teach Program, recently participated in the

International English Language Teaching Conference at SQU by giving a

workshop on using web tools and simple technical skills needed to integrate

e-journals and blogs in teaching English language to Omani students. Abdullah

attributes his accomplishment to his previous participation in the E-teacher

program which was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Muscat as the door that

opened a way for him to become a presenter and a trainer in this field.

To read about E-teacher program, visit: http://oman.usembassy.gov/e-teacher-program.html

Muna Al Alawai shares her success experience in the (TEA) Program

Alumni Success Stories

E-teacher Alumnus Gives a Workshop at ELT Conference

1. Teaching Excellence and Achievement

Program (TEA). May 5, 2013

2. FY- 2014 Fulbright Foreign Language

Teaching Assistant. September 1, 2013

3. FY 2014 The Hubert Humphrey Fellowship

Program. September 1, 2013

1. Career Shadowing Visits. May 14-30, 2013

2. EducationUSA & Embassy Exchange Programs Presentation. May 7, 2013.

The new website responds to alumni requests for a faster, more modern, interactive, and accessible website. It features enhancements of your favorite content including a $33 billion grants database, job opportunities, an e-library of more than 20,000 publications, and alumni news and events. It also offers exciting new features including a project collaboration space as well as tools for you to more easily connect and engage with your peers. Additionally, the new site features pages that are viewable by the public so that we can work with you to share your achievements with a global audience. Visit: https://alumni.state.gov/

AEIF 2013 Has Begun!

The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) invites you to team up with other alumni to compete for up to $25,000 to support your local solutions to global challenges. Log into the International Exchange Alumni website and submit your project proposal before the May 12 deadline!

About State Alumni Voice:

State Alumni Voice is a monthly newsletter published by the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat and

aims to connect to Omani alumni of U.S. exchange programs. The newsletter features alumni news by highlighting

alumni recent events and activities as well as U.S. Embassy outreach programs. It is also a platform for alumni to

share their success stories through their exchange programs and spread the word about them. The newsletter also

provides alumni with updated information, resources, job and training opportunities and upcoming events and

programs deadlines.

Keep in touch and send us your suggestions for alumni events, inquiries, success stories, and

proposals. Contact Alumni Coordinator, Sami Al Kharusi at: AL-KharusiSS@state.gov U.S.

Embassy Social Media Links: | | | |

Upcoming

Events

Deadlines