October 3, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 14, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Jeff Jackson, Director of Marketing & Communications
Columbus Council on World Affairs
jjackson@columbusworldaffairs.org
Alyson Helwagen, Fahlgren Mortine
This school year, approximately 1,100 Central Ohio students are expected to join the program that builds global awareness, career skills, and leadership experience through the Columbus Council on World Affairs.
COLUMBUS, OH (August 14, 2025) — The Columbus Council on World Affairs (CCWA) a nonprofit dedicated to creating engaged global citizens, leaders and changemakers and transforming the Columbus Region into a globally fluent community where everyone thrives, is proud to announce the start of the 2025-2026 Global Scholars Diploma (GSD) cohort, welcoming approximately 1,200 high school students from across Central Ohio into its immersive, three-year program. Designed to equip students with the skills, knowledge and perspectives needed to thrive in a globally interconnected world, the GSD program builds global competence through hands-on experiences, cross-cultural learning, and community-based action.
During 2025, CCWA is marking its 50th anniversary and in April celebrated the 10th graduating class of the Global Scholars Diploma. This fall’s class of Global Scholars is the 11th class of the program. Since its inception, the GSD program has partnered with schools to give students direct exposure to global cultures, careers and critical issues.
“Global Scholars are learning about the world in a hands-on way so that they can go on to help shape the future,” said Patrick Terrien, President of CCWA. “From environmental restoration to supporting refugee integration, the issues tackled by GSD students are proving that informed, engaged young people can lead real change.”
An Immersive Three-Year Program
The Global Scholars Diploma is a three-year program that develops globally competent high school students by building the awareness and skills needed to take action on a global issue and to become responsible citizens of the world. Students build global competency by exploring three key themes: Global Issues, Global Cultures, and Global Careers.
Over the course of three years — either from grades 9-11 or 10-12 — Global Scholars Diploma students progress through a carefully designed curriculum that blends classroom learning with interactive experiences. The GSD curriculum includes:
The first two years are spent at face-to-face events where local experts share their personal experiences with culture, jobs with global components, and issues around the world. Students engage in various collaborative activities within themed events, learning and exercising their cultural fluency and competency.
In year three, students create their own Take Action Project, a capstone initiative that applies their global learning to address a real-world challenge in their local community. This year, some GSD students will present their Take Action projects at CCWA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Event called GlobalColumbus: The World We Want, taking place October 16 at the Ohio Statehouse.
Benefits of Earning A Global Scholars Diploma
Students who complete the three‑year Global Scholars Diploma gain a meaningful credential. Starting in fall 2024, graduates are eligible for a renewable $20,000 scholarship from Otterbein University upon admission. Additionally, GSD graduates stand out on resumes and in college applications thanks to their strong portfolio of global competence, a graduation seal and cords, project‑based learning experience, and ready‑made network of partners and peers.
Student Success Stories
Recent GSD graduates have tackled pressing global issues through innovative third-year Take Action projects that connect classroom learning to community needs. Highlights from the Class of 2025 include:
Enrollment Still Open
Incoming 9th and 10th graders in the 19 central Ohio school districts that offer GSD can join the 2025–2026 cohort. A full list of districts with the GSD program can be found at https://columbusworldaffairs.org/program-training/global-scholars-diploma/.
To learn more about how you can enroll your students, contact Darian Raissi at draissi@columbusworldaffairs.org. Schools not yet participating can connect with CCWA to explore adding the program for their students.
For more details on the Global Scholars Diploma program visit: https://columbusworldaffairs.org/program-training/global-scholars-diploma/
About the Columbus Council on World Affairs
The Columbus Council on World Affairs (CCWA) is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1975. The Columbus Council on World Affairs is dedicated to creating engaged global citizens, leaders and changemakers and transforming the Columbus Region into a globally fluent community where everyone thrives. The Council’s signature program is the Global Scholars Diploma, a three-year curriculum for high school students serving 1,000+ students a year in 19 school districts in the Columbus Region. More information is at https://columbusworldaffairs.org/
About the Global Scholars Diploma
The Global Scholars Diploma is a three-year program that teaches the knowledge and skills needed to work and thrive in our global society to the Columbus Region’s high school students through experiential and project-based learning. Graduates gain skills in cross-cultural communication, explore global careers and take action on pressing global issues. Culminating with the Take Action capstone project, the Global Scholars Diploma allows students to explore important global causes they are most passionate about, ranging from human trafficking and the threat of single-use plastic pollution to worldwide loneliness and the devastating effects of malnutrition in children. More than 1,300 students have earned the Global Scholars Diploma since its introduction in 2015.