About Us
The National Center for Global Engagement is a nonprofit social venture established to create international study, service, and work opportunities for promising American students of color. Our goal is to level the playing field and prepare our nation’s most promising future leaders of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to truly be globally competitive by providing scholarships for study abroad, foreign language training, and meaningful professional development and civic engagement experiences. We are especially focused on supporting urban public school districts at the K-12 level as well as Historically Black, Hispanic-Serving, and Tribal institutions of higher education.

The Problem We Seek to Solve
For more than a decade, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American students have represented nearly 25% of total college enrollment, but only 9% of students who study abroad. Yet, meaningful opportunities for international work and study are increasingly critical to preparing all American students for success at leading colleges and universities as well as in the competitive and rapidly globalizing professional world beyond. A diverse, globally competent workforce is also critical to attaining world peace, safe-guarding national security and ensuring continued American economic prosperity. Without this exposure, even the best and brightest students from minority and working-class backgrounds will continue to find themselves at a distinct academic and competitive disadvantage on the world stage and in today’s global marketplace.