E&EM Masters student Ariel Castillo was selected in November 2005 to attend the International Scholar Laureate Program. Ariel has been given the option of traveling to one of three locations where the program is offered: China, Central and Eastern Europe, or Australia beginning in May 2006.
Each day of Ariel’s program will involve a different learning experience where he will meet government and business leaders in their respective fields. While Ariel had not yet selected his region at the time this article went to press, he was leaning towards the European program. In the European region, Ariel would attend OPEC sessions at the OPEC headquarters and meet leaders in the energy area. The European program includes courses such as the following: “Behind the Scenes at the World Headquarters of OPEC: Politics and Economics of Oil” and “Supply and Demand: Fueling the Global Market of Consumption Oil as a Strategic Commodity.”
During his program, Ariel will be undertaking an Independent Study course at GW and will prepare a research report of his experiences for the benefit of other E&EM graduate students. As of this writing, Ariel plans to focus that research paper on the events that go on during the OPEC activities.