Student leaders from southern Asia hosted by Green River CC

For the second straight year, Green River Community College is hosting student leaders from Bangladesh for a Leadership Institute as part of a federal grant program funded by the U.S. State Department.

In addition to participants from Bangladesh, this year’s group of 18 also includes students from India and Pakistan.

Green River Community College is the only two-year school and the only West Coast institution to host one of seven Study of the United States Institutes. Other institute hosts include the universities of Vermont, Arkansas, Minnesota, Alabama, and Southern Illinois.

Institute participants are highly motivated undergraduates from prominent universities and typically in their junior year, explained Edith Bannister, vice president for extended learning and economic development at Green River.

“These students have been competitively selected by the respective U.S. embassies for their demonstrated leadership in academic work, community involvement and extracurricular activities,” Bannister said.

Students in the program at Green River will focus on Leadership, social responsibility and service in the context of American Society and gain a better understanding of U.S. history, politics, and culture as well as contemporary American life.

“This program exposes students positioned to be future leaders in their countries, to our communities and we have the opportunity to change perceptions about the United States and the American people” added Bannister.

Students were welcomed by Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen during a visit to the State Capitol in Olympia on July 2.

The following day, students took part in the Tall Ships Festival at Tacoma’s Commencement Bay.

More than 20 Green River faculty and staff will share their expertise with the students. Guest presenters from the community and faculty from the University of Washington -Tacoma will also round out the program.

After a four-week comprehensive study program at the college, students will participate in a study tour of the Olympic Peninsula to focus on Native American cultures and leadership in natural resource management.

The culmination of the program is a four-day conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Academy for Academic Development and the State Department, where all institute participants will gather to share their experiences.

Ecology Youth Corps removing litter from State Route 18

State Route 18 is among Washington’s highways that will be cleaner after the efforts of teenage students this summer.

The Ecology Youth Corps, consisting of 14 to 17-year-olds hired by the state Department of Ecology (DOE), will pick up litter along the roadsides.

The crews will collect more than 115 tons of litter from roughly 800 miles of road in five Puget Sound region counties, including King County, according to DOE officials.

Motorists should use extra caution when they see the orange “Ecology crew working” signs along highways, said Steven Williams, who helps manage the program.

The workers’ safety “is our highest priority,” he said.

Statewide, the program will employ about 320 youths this summer. They’re paid $8.07 per hour and work in two four-week sessions.

Other highways in King County getting a cleaning include Interstate 405 and State Route 167.