On Wednesday, June17th, the U.S. Embassy hosted a group of fifteen high school students and teachers from rural towns across Mongolia, as part of the Peace Corps’ Village-to-City project.
The students were greeted by Public Affairs Officer Richard Roberts and heard from the Embassy staff members from Public Affairs Section, Defense Attaché, Political Section and General Services Office, who spoke about their career paths, the jobs available to local Mongolian citizens at the Embassy, and the skills and experience required. The students also had the opportunity to hear about the Embassy’s initiatives to combat air pollution in Mongolia, and to visit the embassy’s ‘American ger’—a prototype that employs a special water-driven solar-heating system—as well as other environmental projects. At the end of the trip, the students and teachers meet with Mr. Bryan Koonts, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and asked him questions about U.S. – Mongolia relations.
In its third year, the Village-to-City project brings high school students and teachers from Mongolia’s countryside to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, and connects them with some of Mongolia’s leading businesses, helping them understand how they can pursue professional careers in Mongolia’s growing and changing economy. Students selected for the program all rank at the top of their classes, but given their rural lives, would not otherwise have the chance to learn about the career opportunities available to them in Mongolia’s leading industries.
For 2015, the Village-to-City project was expanded from one to two weeks and the number of participants doubled, for a total of ten teachers and twenty students from nine provinces across Mongolia. In addition to the Embassy, participating organizations included:
- American University of Mongolia
- Education USA (Education Access Resource Center)
- Holding company Erdenes Mongol and its mining subsidiary Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi
- Kempinski Hotel Ulaanbaatar
- Real estate corporation Max Group
- Property development company Mongolia Growth Group
- Executive recruiting firm Mongolia Talent Network
- Pricewaterhouse Coopers
- The Zorig Foundation
