US gov’t invites students from Visayas to join edufair

John Groch (center), public affairs officer of the US Embassy in Manila, announces the holding of an educational fair, EducationUSA (EdUSA), in a hotel at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City on Saturday, August 27. | Morexette Marie Erram

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Around 70 participants are expected to join in an educational fair slated this Saturday, August 27, at a hotel in North Reclamation Area (NRA), Cebu City.

The United States Embassy in Manila announced in a press briefer on Thursday, August 25, that they would be holding the EducationUSA (EdUSA) in which representatives from the United States government and universities there would be providing free advising services for Filipinos who want to pursue their studies in the U.S. 

EdUSA will be held at Radisson Blu Hotel. 

“We’re excited to kickoff the EdUSA fair in Cebu. It’s been a long time coming and we know it’s important work. It was hard to do (an educational fair) during the pandemic. Now, we’re very happy to do it again,” said Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy in Manila, John Groch. 

Groch, together with other officers of the US Embassy in Manila, was in Cebu on Thursday to promote EdUSA. 

The one-day, information session is aimed at helping Filipinos find the right programs and universities for their undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S. 

Participants can also expect free counseling on scholarship opportunities, financial aid options, campus life, and VISA processing. 

Groch told reporters during Thursday’s briefing that they decided to kickoff the educational fair in Cebu in the hopes of welcoming more students from the Visayas region. 

“Part of the reason, honestly, is we feel in terms of studying in the US, the Visayas are underrepresented,” said Groch. 

Citing data from the U.S. government, an average of 3,000 students from the Philippines get accepted to study in schools and universities in the United States in a year.

However, only a fraction of this number came from areas outside the National Capital Region, such as Cebu, Groch pointed out. 

“We would like to see more (potential students) from the Visayas. Not just Cebu. We would like to see more activities here,” he added. 

Interested applicants can register for EdUSA’s event this Saturday through the EducationUSA Philippines official Facebook page. 

Organizers also advised those, who wanted to join, to bring their COVID-19 vaccine cards and follow social distancing guidelines. 

ALSO READ

DepEd may revert to English, Filipino as medium of instruction for primary learners

Marcos wants to reexamine medium of instruction in schools

DepEd urged to reinforce English as medium of instruction

Gwen wants English back as main medium of instruction in public schools

Bongbong Marcos told: Replace English with Filipino as language of instruction

/dbs