Dear THANAKIT,
Your 2014 Summer Work Travel experience was made possible by the U.S. Department of State’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. As a former participant in a Summer Work Travel exchange program, the State Department has offered to register you in their International Exchange Alumni website. The International Exchange Alumni Website is a password protected resource for alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs. The website provides a global network of more than 100,000 members access to educational and professional resources, along with opportunities to collaborate and share their success stories.
Access to this online community will help you to connect with other alumni of exchange programs in your country and around the world. It will also allow you to compete for funding opportunities such as the U.S. Department of State’s prestigious Alumni Innovation Engagement Fund (AIEF). This competition provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of U.S. government exchange programs to carry out public service projects that utilize skills and knowledge they have gained through their exchange experiences. Former Summer Work Travel participants in Macedonia have won this competition twice and have used it to promote youth entrepreneurship in their country.