The recent
National GeographicRoper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey
showed that young Americans scored second to last among nine nations on
a test of geography and world events.
"These
results make our job as student ambassadors more important," said
Ben Bain, a second-year student whose presentation is on U.S. efforts
to help Russia safeguard its nuclear materials. "Anything we can
do to make kids more aware of things outside their daily lives is worth
the effort."
The number
of students in the program has essentially doubled in its second year
of existence. Managed by UGA's Center for International Trade and Security,
the program's 20 student ambassadors now serve approximately 150 students
a week in three counties surrounding the Athens campus.
"Our students
have given PowerPoint presentations and led discussions on 20 topics this
semester. Each presentation features at least two maps of the area under
discussion," said Terrell Austin, program coordinator. "High
school students remember geographic locations better when they hear about
something dramatic that happened there last week. We think teaching geography
through current events is an effective method."
Local teachers
seem to agree. Colin Connors, who has been hosting UGA students in his
current issues classes at Oconee County High School since January, was
not surprised by the survey's findings. "At the beginning of every
semester, I give a pretest to see what incoming students know and it is
usually pretty limited," he said. "Even after Sept. 11, most
of them coming in did not know where Afghanistan was. I spend a lot of
time on geography and the Student Ambassadors Program has been a big help.
doing a great job of presenting the world in a fun and interesting way."
UGA students
participating in the program include:
Michelle Sawyer
of Peachtree City.
Kim Council
of Valdosta.
Megan Crimmins
of Augusta.
Ben Bain of
Atlanta.
Naveen Ramachandrappa
of Rome.
Susan Beach
of Lawrenceville.
Greg Swartzberg
of College Park.
Catherine
Russler of Atlanta.
Ben Fry of
McDonough.
Chad Ensley
of Blue Ridge.
Rachel Schulman
of Douglasville.
Sarah Floyd
of Evans.
Rebecca Solomon
of Union County.
Brian Holland
of Snellville.
Kate Vyborny
of Raleigh, N.C.
Bliss Khaw
of Jesup.
Ivy Le of
Dallas, TX.
Seth Segan
of Atlanta.
John Scott
Husser of Rome.
Matt Edwards.
Phillip Jones.
Vandad Khosrivirad.
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