For the first time in school history, students are invited to apply for Council on International Educational Exchange’s (CIEE) Global Navigator Fellows Award through the CIEE Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad Program. 

CIEE is a non-profit organization that has worked to help students travel and study abroad for over 75 years. As the only school in Colorado to receive this opportunity, 10 $1,000 scholarship programs are available for Jags of any age. 

“What they’ve given us, just for us as a school, is 10 $1,000 scholarships for kids to choose whatever program they want in the summer. The programs are all abroad,” French and Spanish teacher Alexis Savas said. 

“We still have more to give away. If you look through their website, ciee.org, it’s anything! If we have a kid who’s really into theater or writing, then they might want to go and study [the programs for] theater arts or creative writing in London for the summer, and they also have an art-making studio program. They have entrepreneurship, [programs in] Singapore and Berlin, a whole bunch of science programs for global sustainability and ocean conservatorship, too. We just still have this money to give away to more people.”

The Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad Program offers over 30 travel destinations, including sites in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, for high school students to travel to and study specialized subjects through, such as entrepreneurship, marine science, international relations, and more. 

“I’m going to Monteverde, Costa Rica, for the ‘Women in STEM’ environmental action during the summer, June 18 to July 9,” Sophie Tobin ‘25 said. “I applied because I am very interested in science and I think it’s so important to have women in the STEM field, as it’s a male-dominated field. I’m excited to meet new people that are interested in the same topic and hear from speakers.”

The deadline for students to apply is April 15, and the application for 2024 programs will open this June.

“To apply, they have to come see me or Mr. [Ty] Clark,” Savas said. “They’ll go online, and as soon as [CIEE] approves their application, I call, and then [CIEE] gives them the $1,000. There’s a merit thing, and they’ll have to write three essays — one essay about their activities in high school, one essay about a challenge they faced, how they’ve overcome it, and how they’ll learn from it in the future and one essay about why they want to study abroad. 

“We’re the first school in Colorado to get it. Not only is it $10,000 this year, but it’s $10,000 every year, as it’s an ongoing fellowship every year with no end date. The catch is that you have to actually go on one of their programs. You can’t just say like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go to CU Boulder and take my $1,000 there’.”

The scholarships are available to any student who applies on a first come first serve basis, with no language learning requirements. 

“I’m going to Toulouse for the Airbus engineering program June 18 to July 8,” Sarah Matarelli ‘23 said. “I heard [about the scholarship] through an email from Mrs. Savas and Ms. [Hannah] Klein. I’m going into mechanical engineering at Lehigh University next year, so I thought it would be helpful to get some field experience before walking into college. I love traveling and have never been to France before, so I’m really excited to explore the area.”