Second group of students from Panama studying at college under agreement with Panamanian government

President John Marsden and his wife Margaret gave a welcoming
reception at their home, Pinkerton-Rouse Place, in March for the
second group of Panamanian students, 26 of them. (College photo)

By Bridget Slone

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

A second group of students from Panama is studying at Midway College, under an agreement the college signed with a Panamanian government agency in December.

Under the agreement, the Panamanian government awarded scholarships, including tuition, room and board, for Panamanian students to study at the college, according to Ellen Gregory, the college’s vice president of marketing and communications.

The college said in a press release that it hosted Sonia de Luzcando, general director, and Itzel Hubbarb, chief international cooperation officer of Panama’s Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources, on campus for a tour, strategy meetings and an official signing ceremony.

The first Panamanians to arrive on campus under the partnership was a group of eight teachers and three school administrators, according to the college’s director of multicultural and international Affairs, Rosa Ponce-Sanabria.

“The teachers were on campus four weeks and the administrators for six weeks,” Ponce-Sanabria said. “They attended education courses with the help of an interpreter and have now returned to Panama to put their newly acquired skills into practice at their schools.”

The second group to arrive was students who are participating in a college readiness program, which began in March and goes through mid-December, Gregory said in an email.

The students previously attended a center funded by the Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources. Through this center, the institute provides room and board to students from rural 

areas who would otherwise not be able to regularly attend school, Gregory explained.

She said all the students were selected because of their strong academic background, and at this point 26 scholarships have been funded. “We anticipate this to be just the beginning of a long relationship going forward,” she said.