US community college journey falls into place for Madagascan student – with help from scholarship sponsored by LanguageCert

A student from Madagascar is now the first winner of a $1,000 CCID International Student Scholarship sponsored by LanguageCert to study at a US community college.
 
Tongasoa Jefferson Julianot Rakotomalala will start his studies in business administration this semester at Spokane Falls Community College in east Washington state.
 
The competition – open to students applying for two-year courses at community colleges that are members of the Community Colleges for International Development (CCID) organisation – is now accepting applications for winter/spring 2023.
 
Jefferson said: “Being the recipient of the CCID International Student Scholarship sponsored by LanguageCert means so much to me as it represents one step towards my goal of getting a world-class education in the US – something that will change my life.”
 
This will be the first time Jefferson has left Madagascar and he’s now looking forward to studying business and fulfilling a dream to set up his own company back home and create further opportunities for the local population.
 
He added: “As an international student, it will be more beneficial for me to go through community college before going to university as it will better prepare me for it. I believe that studying at Spokane Falls Community College is definitely a great opportunity to pursue higher education overseas.”
 
Bram Van Kempen, Education Partnerships Manager – North America at LanguageCert, said: “This is what the LanguageCert/CCID scholarship is all about: giving opportunities to people from around the world like Jefferson to further their education and life chances. And this is just the first scholarship to be awarded as part of this new joint initiative.”
 
Kian Zare, CCID Executive Director said: “In the education space, partnerships create access for our students. And our partnership with LanguageCert has created access for a student in Madagascar to study at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington. International students bind our local communities to their home countries in a unique way; they are the connection between local initiatives and global ambition.”
 
Students eligible for the funding will have been accepted to study full time at one of the participating CCID member institutions and have taken the LanguageCert International ESOL test for English proficiency. The current sponsorship program will cover up to 10 scholarships by August 2023.
 
International students entering US higher education via community colleges pay lower tuition fees than those charged by four-year schools. Also, achieving the requisite grade point average at community college level opens opportunities to transfer to four-year schools through articulation agreements.