2 Sillimanians Join YSEALI Fellowship

Senior Mass Communication student Val Amiel Vestil and Education alumnus Hanz Denzil Villahermosa got accepted as Spring 2017 academic fellows of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).

YSEALI was launched by President Barack Obama in 2013 to enhance the United States’ relations with future leaders of Southeast Asia and foster an ASEAN community. The Initiative offers education on regional issues, professional skills-building, and opportunities to put those skills into action through educational exchanges to the United States, among its programs.

Vestil and Villahermosa took two out of eight spots for the Civic Engagement Fellowship, which will provide the fellows with an overview of how citizens have shaped the United States.

Vestil, who is presently the editor-in-chief of The Portal Yearbook, will be accommodated by Kennesaw State University in Georgia, USA; while Villahermosa, currently a full-time instructor at the Junior High School department, will be at University of Nebraska – Omaha.