Russian Collaboration- SGA President Ashley Leonard selected as Kremlin Fellowship delegate
Friday, November 4, 2011
Oklahoma State University Student Government Association President Ashley Leonard is heading to Russia this month. Leonard was selected as one of 15 Kremlin Fellowship delegates from across the United States. While there, Leonard will have the opportunity to meet with Russian political and business officials and learn about the Russian culture.
The Russian Federation’s Federal Agency on Youth Affairs initiated the Kremlin Fellows Program in the fall of 2010 to collaborate with the next generation of American leaders. Each Kremlin Fellows Program delegation is made of 15 student body presidents from across the United States. The students traveling to Russia in November are the third delegation of Kremlin Fellows.
As a result of the success of the Kremlin Fellows Program, alumni of the program started The Center for American-Russian Engagement of Emerging Leaders (CAREEL). This organization is dedicated to continuing the Kremlin Fellow Program and enhancing the relationship between the next generation of American and Russian leadership. CAREEL is the primary liaison between the Russian Federation’s Federal Agency on Youth Affairs and the Kremlin Fellows Program.
Leonard will represent OSU when she travels to Russia with 14 other delegates from
universities including Duke, MIT, Columbia and Stanford.
“Most of the students that are going are from the East or West Coast,” Leonard said.
“So, the fact that OSU will be represented in Russia, I think, will be a unique opportunity
to bring an agricultural background and land-grant university perspective into the
conversation, offering a different perspective from most of the other students that
will be going.”
Being included in such an esteemed group of universities could have some future benefits for Oklahoma State said OSU Campus Life Director Kent Sampson.
“This experience will likely open the door, in the future, for both OSU students and faculty to make similar visits to Russia,” Sampson said. “I hope it leads for more students from Russia coming to study at OSU as well.”
The experience offered through the Kremlin Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for Leonard, OSU and the Student Government Association. The programs and ideas Leonard will bring from Russia will be beneficial to the entire student body, Sampson added.
“I think the chance to network with student body presidents from across the nation will be a great opportunity, and hopefully I can bring the networks and relationships I build in Russia back to OSU, and we can implement new ideas and start collaborating with universities that we haven’t in the past,” Leonard said.
Leonard leaves for Russia on Nov. 13, and will return on Nov. 20.