FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 2, 2008
Contact: Robert Preston, Jr.,
912.260.4276
robert.preston@sgc.edu
SGC, Rotary international student a part of local community
It’s enough of a culture shock to move from a city
of 1 million people to a town of just over 10,000. Add to it the fact that
the transition also involves moving from your home country to another
continent and you can see the dilemma facing Joel Salazar, a South Georgia
College student sponsored by the Douglas Rotary Club as a part of the
Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP).
According to the GRSP’s Web site, the program began in 1946 as a way to
promote world peace by offering international students one-year scholarships
to study at colleges and universities in Georgia. The students are sponsored
by a host family, but live on campus. GRSP is quick to point out that it is
not an exchange program, but a scholarship opportunity. Each year, about 80
such students participate in the program.
GRSP selects students who are recommended by Rotary Clubs in their home
countries. Rotary then places the students in participating colleges and
universities in Georgia. Joel Salazar, age 19, is from Barranquilla,
Colombia, a large port city in northern Colombia on the Caribbean Sea. Joel
shares the same hometown as Detroit Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria and
singer Shakira.
Joel’s father, a physician, and his mother, a pre-school teacher, were
studying in Mexico when Joel was born. Soon after, they returned to
Colombia. In his home country, Joel attended British International College.
He plans to stay in the United States for two years.
Joel, who lives in Tiger Village, says he enjoys attending South Georgia
College. “I like how the college is designed, and I’ve made a lot of friends
here,” he says. “School is going well, and my classes are great.”
Joel is studying business, and he lists a wide variety of interests: health
service administration, hospital management, marketing, sports management,
medicine, and biology. His career goals include working for a hospital or
sports team, and then later opening his own business.
As one might expect from someone raised in a home with a teacher and a
doctor, Joel values education and is well aware of the opportunities that an
education presents. “I have been raised believing that every opportunity has
to be held, that hard work is the best tool for acquiring goals, that every
loss or goal has to be seen as valuable knowledge, and that preparation
joined with opportunity is the key for success,” he states in his GRSP
summary.
Joel is a member of the SGC soccer team, and says he has been pleasantly
surprised with the level of play in SGC’s region. Soccer is, of course, huge
in Colombia, and Barranquilla is home to Estadio Metropolitano, a
60,000-seat stadium where Barranquilla’s professional soccer team plays.
Joel, a midfielder with the Tigers, has played in seven matches and scored
one goal and three assists.
“I enjoy South Georgia College and living Douglas. I do wish there was more
to do here,” he says. He has also noticed a number of cultural differences,
the most striking of which is what he believes is Americans’ aloofness with
regard to their neighbors. “People here are more independent. In Colombia,
the houses are very close together and people visit often with their
neighbors. I don’t see that here,” he says.
Matthew and Estelle Greer are hosting Joel during his stay. “We could not be
happier about being Joel’s host family. In just a short time, this
experience has been extremely rewarding for us. We really consider him part
of our family,” says Matthew Greer. “I have three boys and every day they
ask when Joel plays his next soccer game. My oldest son Avery wears the
number 25 on his flag football team because Joel is number 25 for SGC. They
have spent hours in the back yard trying to learn how to handle the soccer
ball like him and have asked countless questions about Colombia and how to
speak Spanish. He is a very respectful, intelligent young man and we are
proud to serve as his host family.”
“The fact that an international student such as Joel can come to the South
Georgia College campus and quickly become a part of the community is a
testament to both the college and Joel’s character. It is an honor to have
him on campus. I would also like to thank the Rotary Club for providing both
South Georgia College and Joel with this opportunity,” says SGC Interim
President Virginia Carson.
Photo One and
Two.
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About South Georgia College
South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu)
was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System
of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives
students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close
collaboration with faculty.
