All-Stars Shine Beyond Access

Particpants in the Access All-Stars English program in Porto Alegre

Project Proposal Presentation

On January 18th, 20 Gaucho public school students danced, sang and laughed their way through the final presentations they had prepared as part of the Access All-Stars English program in Porto Alegre, which was underwritten by the U.S. Consulate in Sao Paulo.

The All-Stars is a follow-on program developed by the Instituto Cultural Brasileiro Norte-Americano (ICBNA) in Porto Alegre to give the top 20 graduates in the  State Department’s Access Microscholarship program additional classes in English Language and American culture.   At the close of the two-year scholarship program for public school students in August 2011, ICBNA identified their top Access students and, with funding from the U.S. Consulate, offered them a one semester course on U.S. culture, literature, cinema, geography and history.  This advanced class was developed by a local university literature professor with the aim of helping these high-school students to write essays and develop projects for their schools and communities.  

At the end of the semester, the students teamed up to develop college-level project proposals, which they presented at the January 18 ceremony.

Congratulations to the All-Stars!