JCSU Success Story

JCSU Student One of 32 Selected for Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Class of 2008

August 1, 2008 - Zubida Bakheit, a rising junior majoring in business management and economics at Johnson C. Smith University, was selected as one of 32 college students from around the country for the 14th Cohort of the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP), a program of the UNCF Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP). One of the nation's most prestigious programs for minority students interested in pursuing careers in international affairs, an IIPP Fellowship provides scholarships and services totaling nearly $100,000 over a five-year period.

During the summer of 2008, the IIPP students participated in the rigorous seven-week Sophomore Summer Policy Institute (SSPI) hosted at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. While in Atlanta, Bakheit was taught by Lawrence E. Carter Sr., a mentor of JCSU President Ronald L. Carter.

The SSPI introduces Fellows to the basics of international policy development, foreign affairs, cultural competence, careers in these fields, and options for graduate study. Over the next five years the Fellowship will include study abroad during their junior year, intensive foreign language training, internships tied to their areas of interest and graduate study.

The IIPP 2008 class represents 26 different colleges and universities. Selection as an IIPP Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable academic achievement, evidence of leadership potential and commitment to a career in global affairs

"The incoming Fellows are one of the most diverse groups the IIPP has ever had," said Darryl Crompton, director of the IIPP. "Our students are from almost every region of the country and come from small liberal arts colleges, Ivy League universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. What brings them together is their interest and commitment to a career in international affairs."

The IIPP is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the UNCF Special Programs Corporation to provide students from underrepresented minority groups with the education and training necessary for entering and advancing in international affairs. Now in its fourteenth year, the IIPP has placed more than 300 Fellows in more than 50 countries across the globe to study foreign affairs and global policy. Students may apply for the Fellowship beginning in the fall semester through the spring semester of their sophomore year.

With the assistance provided through the IIPP, Zubida Bakheit will pursue graduate study after completing her JCSU education, and plans to work in Amman, Jordan. She chose Jordan because “it is the closest I can get to Sudan and still be challenged academically.”

Bakheit is especially interested in a career that would allow her to pursue her goal of encouraging economic development in Sudan. She was eight-years-old when her family immigrated to the United States from Sudan.

She credits Don Provost, father of JCSU alumnus Shani Provost (’06), with influencing her to attend JCSU. She is a UNCF scholarship recipient and a member of the JCSU band, where she serves as euphonium section leader.

In 2008, her younger sister, Nawal, enrolled at JCSU as a psychology major. Bakheit’s family, which includes mother, Nahid Salih, father, Omar Mursa, and brothers Ahmed and Abdul-Raheem, live in Alameda, Calif.