ILRIO supports the U.S. Department of State’s Youth Ambassadors Program, which “provides a three-week trip in the United States to Brazilian students who attend public schools and are role models in their communities.” The participants come from many states and regions of Brazil and are of socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For financial reasons, they would not be able to travel outside of Brazil without the program’s support.
ILRIO supports the Youth Ambassadors by providing two summer scholarships to the two Youth Ambassadors who demonstrate the greatest motivation to study further in the U.S. The scholarships cover all costs for the summer programs at two of the most prestigious boarding schools in the United States: Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy. These summer programs at Andover and Exeter provide a robust introduction to the world of American higher education and encourage our Brazilian participants to apply to colleges in the United States. For 2009, ILRIO has awarded the Exeter scholarship to Vanessa Milost Gonzalez, of Porto Alegre, and the Andover scholarship to Ranniery Ribeiro, originally from Colinas, Maranhão, and now living in Floriano, Piauí.
In 2010, Bruna Lobata, from Rio Grande do Norte, received the Phillips Exeter Academy scholarship, whereas two Brazilians received scholarships for Phillips Academy Andover: Felipe Storch de Oliveira, from Acre, and Ricardo Leonam Borges, from Rio Grande do Sul.
