Girls off to do business in USA

Londonderry students Caroline Henderson, Erin King and Niamh Sammon are off to study business in the United States this August.

The trio have been selected to take part in the British Council’s prestigious Study USA programme, having undergone a competitive selection process.

Caroline (20), a psychology student at Queen’s University Belfast will be heading to Saint Andrew’s University in North Carolina; Erin (20), a Law student at Ulster University is off to North Central College, Illinois; while Niamh (20), who currently studies Law at Queen’s, will spend the next academic year at Ferrum College, Virginia.

Niamh, who departs for the US on August 23, can’t wait for the year ahead.

She said: “Words can’t describe how excited I am to step outside my comfort zone and I still can’t believe how lucky I am to be jetting off to study in Virginia for an entire year.

“I’ve been away from home before but not for more than a month, so I do expect the experience of adapting to a completely different culture to be challenging; but I couldn’t be happier to have the chance to do so!

“Through Study USA I am determined to broaden my horizons, become more confident and self-reliant; and return with a newly gained skill set, knowledge and perspective to equip me in making a positive contribution to Northern Ireland.”

The British Council, which is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations, manages Study USA on behalf of the Department for the Economy.

This year, the scholarship programme will give 53 Northern Ireland students the opportunity to study business and management for a year in American colleges, across 34 States, where they gain valuable international experience and business knowledge, helping to develop their career prospects when they return to Northern Ireland.

Since its formation in 1994, the initiative has sent over 1800 students from Northern Ireland to all four corners of the United States where they have successfully completed a year studying business at one of 140 institutions.

Also speaking about the programme was David Alderdice, Director, British Council Northern Ireland, who said: “We know that the students departing for the US this year will be great ambassadors for Northern Ireland and will help to further long-term links and connections between our two countries.

“The students will have the opportunity to learn from leading experts in their field and their future employability will be enhanced through internships, Ambassadorial presentations, and volunteer work in a really international context. Most importantly, our students will build links with counterparts in the United States that will last a lifetime.”

Study USA is just one of many international opportunities available through British Council Northern Ireland. For more information visit http://nireland.britishcouncil.org, email [email protected] or follow on Twitter BCouncil_NI

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