American Councils Receives Major Gifts To Launch ExCEL Program

A new American Councils initiative was born out of the generosity of several donors and the vision of U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania Anne E. Derse. Four Lithuanian students have been awarded scholarships to study in the U.S. for the 2010-2011 academic year under the aegis of the Exchanges for Culture, Education, and Leadership (ExCEL) program. ExCEL is American Councils’ first direct exchange with Lithuania, and is designed to promote strong ties between a new generation of young Lithuanian and American leaders through scholarships to cover one year of study at an American high school.
The ExCEL students, pictured at right, are Gabriele Uršulė Bartosevičiūtė, Vilnius J. Basanaviciaus high school; Eleanor Lekavičiūtė from Kaunas Jesuit gymnasium; Gabriel Papievytė from Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium; and Andrius Sakalauskas, Didždvaris gymnasium.

ExCEL was created by the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania and the Lithuanian Ministry of Education in partnership with American Councils. Generous support was provided by the Embassy; two biotech companies, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Fermentas UAB; and Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3). Individual gifts in support of the program were received from President Valdas Adamkus and his wife Alma Adamkienė, Dr. John Prunskus, and Jeffrey Nelson.

Help us to continue to grow strong ties between our countries by making a donation to ExCEL via our secure online Donation Center at Donation Center