EducationUSA Competitive College Club (CCC) Macedonia

Nearly 150 students from Strumica, Valandovo, Bogdanci and Gevgelija who are now finishing their second and third year of high school attended a presentation by Mr. Shalom M. Konstantino, Youth Outreach & Education Coordinator from the U.S. Embassy and EducationUSA Adviser Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj from AC Bitola/EducationUSA Bitola earlier today.  The presentations were held at four locations: Jane Sandanski High School in Strumica, Goce Delchev High School in Valandovo, Bogdanci High School and Josif Josifovski High school in Gevgelija.  The presentations focused on the application procedures to U.S. colleges and the opportunity and advantages of joining the local Competitive College Club in Bitola. The students were also able to participate in Mr. Konstantino's interactive workshop on setting goals and ways to achieve them through an interesting exercise allowing students to learn that reaching out to available resources is one of the most effective ways to achieve thei

The American Corner Bitola organized the EducationUSA Caravan at four high schools in Bitola: Josip Broz Tito High School, Jane Sandaski High School of Economics, Gjorgji Naumov Technical High School and Taki Daskalo High School. The purpose of the caravan is to get the students familiar with the EducationUSA opportunities, more specifically with the Competitive College Club (CCC) in Bitola and the available resources at the American Corner Bitola. Around 100 students from second and third year had the chance to learn more about the amazing resources of the Corner and the opportunities that high school students from all over the world have through the CCC program through Ms. Biljana Kuzmanopvska Tasetovikj, Senior EducationUSA Adviser and Xeno Carpenter - New, Fulbright scholar at Taki Daskalo High school, who shared the international students' stories from former CCC scholars who are currently studying in the U.S. and answered many questions about the college application process a

Yesterday, AC Bitola hosted a wonderful one-hour long session with Dr. William New, Professor of Education and Youth Studies at Beloit College, where he answered questions about the U.S. Higher Educational system.  Dr. New received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in history, and an M.A. (Reading), an M.Ed. (Neuroscience & Education), and a Ph.D. (Educational and Applied Developmental Psychology) from Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to becoming a college professor, he was a special education teacher and therapist in New York City for more than a decade. Professor New was on the faculty of DePauw University from 1993-1997, visiting professor at the ACM Urban Studies Program in Chicago in 2000, and led the ACM Central Europe Program in the Czech Republic in 2002. He teaches courses in educational psychology, adolescence, literacy development, and education policy and law.

This session of "How to write and edit before and during college in the U.S." introduced the new students to writing within the CCC activities. Fulbright ETA Xeno W. Carpenter-New held a presentation on his personal experiences with writing for college and for his Fulbright application and adviser Biljana further commented on the general do's and don'ts of writing a good college application essay. Students' essays on "Colleges that Change Lives" book were also revised and useful feedback was given for their next essay assignment withing the Book Club activities.

A truly inspiring meeting with the parents of the EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola was held at the American Corner Bitola. On the path to their application process, the EducationUSA Competitive College Club students need complete support from their parents. Due to this, the parents had their meeting with Ms. Suzana Gruevska, parent of an EdUSA CCC student who recently started studying at Minerva School at KGI. were discussed during the meeting. The parents were very pleased to learn about t he needed support from the parents, the steps of the application process and how everything looks like from the parent’s perspective  from Ms. Gruevska, as well as to consult about the testing and college application procedures with Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj, AC Bitola Coordinator and Senior EducationUSA Adviser.

The American Corner Bitola organized the EducationUSA Caravan at Mirche Acev High School in Prilep and the Dobri Daskalov High School in Kavadarci. The purpose of the caravan is to get the students familiar with the EducationUSA opportunities, more specifically with the Competitive College Club (CCC) in Bitola and the available resources at the American Corner Bitola about studying in the U.S. which were answered by Ms. Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj, Senior EducationUSA Adviser. Biljana also shared CCC students success stories and invited the students to visit the EducationUSA Fair in Skopje on April 4th 2017. The Caravan day was rounded off with a presentation on "Financial Aid for Undergraduate International Students" to CCC students in Skopje.  CCC Bitola blog: http://edusa-cccbitola.blogspot.mk/ EducationUSA Fair in Skopje: https://www.facebook.com/events/1068201656656530/

Mr. Gazmend Ilazi from the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia visited the American Corner Bitola and held a presentation about the Embassy's educational exchange opportunities. Mr. Ilazi talked more about the Fulbright program, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI), The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD), and Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Summer Institute that were all of interest for the University professors and students present at this presentation. Gazmend also described very well the application as well as the selection process for the Fulbright program and encouraged the students and the professors to apply and experience the innumerable benefits, the fresh perspective and valuable insights these educational exchange programs bring.  For more on the educational exchange programs go to: https://mk.usembassy.gov/education-culture/educational-exchange-programs/

The American Corner Bitola/EducationUSA Center Bitola organized one of its monthly meetings for the 2017 EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola Members. This meeting led by Mr. Xeno W. Carpenter-New, Fulbright Scholar, was on the topic of "Understanding U.S. Geography" - a presentation that will help the CCC Bitola students choose the right college or university for them, based on location, expenses, mobility and access in general.

The American Corner Bitola organized the EducationUSA Caravan at the Car Samoil High School in Resen. The purpose of the caravan is to get the students familiar with the EducationUSA opportunities, more specifically with the Competitive College Club (CCC) in Bitola and the available resources at the American Corner Bitola. Around 40 students from second year had the chance to learn more about the amazing resources of the Corner and the opportunities that high school students from all over the world have through the CCC program from Ms. Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj, Senior EducationUSA Adviser, who also shared the international students stories from former CCC scholars who are currently studying in the U.S. and answered many questions about the college application process in the U.S.

The American Corner Bitola welcomed second and third year high school students from the "Krste Petkov Misirkov" High School in Demir Hisar. ACBitola Coordinator & Senior EducationUSA Adviser Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj told the students about the work of the American Corner Bitola/ EducationUSA Center Bitola, the current programs, activities, projects, and the possibilities of studying in the U.S. The main purpose of this visit was to introduce the students to the active EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola and how they can join.

The group of EducationUSA Competitive College Club students had their regular Read Aloud Book Club event. The students were reading the book "Colleges that Change Lives" by Loren Pope and were able to learn more about numerous colleges in the U.S. and the educational opportunities they offer.

The American Corner Bitola organized a presentation titled “Fraternity & Sorority life on American College Campus “with Mr. Lucas Schenk, U.S. Embassy Macedonia Intern.  Mr. Schenk was delighted to share his experience  as a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity  at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, as well as explain how fraternities work, how they are named using the Greek alphabet, how to choose what group to be involved with etc.   The tradition of fraternity and sorority life in the United States on college campuses is one of the oldest traditions, set to create bonds of great support, friendships and future networking.

The American Corner Bitola organized a presentation about the international English language proficiency test TOEFL. The presentation led by Ms. Ivana Angelkovska, AC Bitola Staff was to share the main information and the available resources at the American Corner Bitola.  The participants at the end of the presentation had various questions related to the registration process, what happens on the testing day, how to prepare etc. The TOEFL test is the most widely respected English-language test in the world, recognized by more than 9,000 colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries, including Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the United States. The American Corner Bitola is an official TOEFL test center since 2010.

During the third CCC meeting in February, CCC students had the opportunity to discuss selectivity as one of the major factors for understanding the U.S. Higher Educational System. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn more about college rankings and how they can help in building effective college lists through an interactive presentation prepared by EdUSA Senior and CCC adviser Biljana.

The Education USA Competitive College Club Bitola held one of its weekly meetings at the American Corner Bitola. The CCC students had the opportunity to learn about the SAT from Kristina Veljanovska, 2016 CCC scholar who shared her experience and process of preparing for the test and also hear about  the financial aid aspect of studying in the U.S. by Mr. Kris Cuellar, Peace Core Volunteer .

The Model UN presentation held at the American Corner was all about the research skills and rules of procedure for the Model UN Conference. The attendees learned how to do a quality research and use all available resources. Learn more about Model UN on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/MacedoniaModelUnitedNations/

The EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola met for one of their regular meetings. This time, the students had the opportunity to hear more on "The College Experience" that Mr. Kris Cuellar, local Peace Corps Volunteer, had during his undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S. Mr. Cuellar had prepared an amazing presentation where he explained the difference between private and public universities, student to teacher ratio, cost of attending college in the U.S. as well as campus life and surrounding area. Kris also talked about commuter vs dorm schools, clubs, activities, sports, fraternities and sororities and internships.

The EducatonUSA Center in Btola started with the first December meeting of the 2017 Competitive College Club. Amazing high school students from Bitola, Resen, Kichevo, Ohrid and Struga applied and were admitted to the new 2017 CCC in order to successfully prepare their college applications. The December meeting was introductory where Xeno W. Carpenter-New, Fulbright Scholar, Teaching Assistant at Taki Daskalo High School in Bitola and music performance major at DePauw University and Marko Manevski, Union College student and CCC Bitola Alumnus, gave very informative and comprehensive presentations about their college experiences enriched with great tips on the college selection process, the types of U.S. colleges and campus life stories. Senior EducationUSA adviser Biljana distributed CCC booklets to the students with all the necessary information about the application process but also the rules and regulation of being a CCC member. The EducationUSA CCC Bitola assists the best and the

The American Corner Bitola hosted an informative presentation by Stefan Bozinovski, a high school student and part of the Model UN team in Bitola. Attendees, including students who will participate in the simulations and the Model UN conference in the upcoming period, were able to learn more about the Model UN, watched the video of the Macedonia Model United Nations Conference in 2016 and received more information about the plans and the concept of this year's Macedonia Model United Nations.

A screening of the webinar "The Inside Scoop on Highly Selective College Admissions" was the final event as part of the Intentional Education Week 2016 organized by the AC Bitola/EducationUSA Center Bitola. The webinar featured former admissions officers from U Chicago, Cornell, Stanford and Harvard who shared advice for students concerning their college applications and the important segments of each application. The students of the current and the new group of the EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola followed the webinar together with the EducationUSA Adviser Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj. After the webinar, Ms. Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj shared more information about the CCC and the process of applying to the U.S. universities.

In the frames of the International Education Week 2016 marked by the AC Bitola/EducationUSA Center Bitola the presentation "Campus Climate" was held by Mr. Xeno Carpenter-New, English Teaching Assistant through the Fulbright program in Macedonia. Mr. Carpenter-New talked about his experience as an undergraduate student and shared information about the campus life at DePauw University. The interesting and very different student life in the U.S. brought numerous questions from the attendees, all of them high school students interested in learning more about continuing their education abroad.

Mr. Gazmend Ilazi from the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia visited the Technical Faculty Bitola and American Corner Bitola for two amazing presentations on the Embassy's educational exchange opportunities. Mr. Ilazi explained in a very detailed manner every detail of each of: the Fulbright program, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI), The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD), and Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Summer Institute and much more. He also encouraged the students and the professors to apply and experience the innumerable benefits, the fresh perspective and valuable insights these educational exchange programs bring. Mr. Ilazi was joined by Mr. Xeno Carpenter-New and Ms. Katherine Bast, ETA and Dr. Paul Koku, U.S. Fulbright scholar, who shared their experience of educational exchange.

The American Corner Bitola hosted the Civic Leaders in Macedonia – Bitola (CLIMB) project for an informative presentation. Mr. Andrew Bagnato, Peace Corps Volunteer and leader of the project as well as  past participants in the project talked about  how CLIMB can help high school students ; in addition to practicing their English speaking skills and learning about educational opportunities abroad, students will also increase their Professional Development capabilities in areas including Public Speaking, CV writing, Interviewing, and much more.

Peace Corps Volunteer Charles McKinney and the Fulbright Scholar Xeno Carpenter-New held the Week 3 Session of the  TOEFL® Test Preparation which focused on the Speaking Section of the test. Mr. McKinney and Mr. Carpenter-New  discussed with the participants the various ways of practicing and improving the English speaking skills and doing the best they can on TOEFL Speaking section. Also, participants had numerous general questions about the TOEFL test and the process of taking the test. For more information on the course go to:  http://edusa-cccbitola.blogspot.mk/2017/06/toefl-test-preparation-insiders-guide.html

Ms. Ivana Angelkovska, ACBitola Staff facilitated the Week 2: Reading Section of the TOEFL® Test. In the reading section there are several key skills that the participants need to master, such as: synthesizing information presented in the text, identifying the author’s rhetorical purpose, scanning the text to find specific pieces of information, understanding academic vocabulary used in the passages and so on. For more information on the course go to:  http://edusa-cccbitola.blogspot.mk/2017/06/toefl-test-preparation-insiders-guide.html

The American Corner Bitola organized a facilitated session for the Massive Open Online Course - TOEFL® Test Preparation: The Insider’s Guide, led by  ACBitola Staff  Ms. Ivana Angelkovska . The TOEFL test is the world’s most trusted and widely accepted English-language assessment. It has helped millions of people achieve their dreams of university study, skilled migration, employment, scholarships, visas and more. More than 9,000 universities, agencies, institutions and organizations worldwide, accept TOEFL scores.  The 6-week course created by ETSx and EdX is designed to prepare the participants for the TOEFL® test and learn how to improve their  English language skills and TOEFL  score from the experts who create the exam. After taking this course the participants  will get a look inside how the test is made and  will have a much better understanding of how to study for the TOEFL test. The American Corner Bitola is an official TOEFL test center since 2010. For more on the cours

The American Corner Bitola organized a presentation introducing the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES Program) led by YES Alumni Marija Torkovska. The program that is funded by the U.S. Department of State provides scholarships for high school students (age 15-17) to spend one academic year in the United States. Ms. Torkovska shared the basic information about this programas well as her personal experience with it through an interactive presentation for high school students from Bitola and the region. For more on the program go to: http://www.yesprograms.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/YES-Macedonia-544110625766852/

The EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola students had the opportunity to attend the presentation "How to write a successful CV" with Andrej Korunovski, a senior EdUSA CCC student. During the presentation, Andrej shared his professional biography and tips on how to create an effective CV which will best showcase their professional experience.

American Corner Bitola organized a pre-departure orientation meeting for the two 2015 EducationUSA Competitive College Club Bitola scholars that will continue their studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Rochester this fall.  During t he two-hour meeting and presentation,  YES Alumni Ms. Marija Torkovska shared some key tips from her own experiences studying in the States to help these students gain some basic knowledge of every day necessities for their future academic and social lives in the U.S.