DAMMAM, 5 June 2003 -- A fresh graduate of the Philippine School in Dammam (PSD) has been selected to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) from June 15 to June 26 in Washington, D.C. and New York City.
Veronica Tupaz will be joining some 350 outstanding students from around the world who were selected as ''scholars'' by GYLC to interact with key US leaders and newsmakers with powerful influence over politics, finance, culture and diplomacy, Arab News learned.
A press statement of the GYLC said that through this conference, ''a student who may have a history of conflict with another student from a different culture may lower down the barriers by recognizing the differences and building on similarities.''
Veronica was nominated to attend the GYLC after participating in the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) through the CollegeBoard.com.
''I am very happy to be selected to attend this conference since I will be meeting people of my age from different parts of the world, sharing opinions on global issues like terrorism, human rights, world economic and business issues,'' Tupaz said in an interview with Arab News.
She added: ''I am encouraging other students to participate in this kind of conference because it gives us a chance to exchange views with other children of different nationalities who might one day become leaders of nations.''
The 17-year-old had just finished high school at PSD. She is going to take up chemical engineering at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos when she returns home from the US conference.
Her parents, Joseph and Irene, and her younger brother Reiner will be joining Veronica in her trip to the United States. Reiner will be coming back to Dammam to continue his studies at PSD.
Veronica's father is working with the National Methanol Company in Jubail.