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AIFS Abroad is committed to sustainability, environmental responsibility, and climate action. As part of our Green Initiative, we are proud to offer the Green Ambassador Scholarship to participants who share our passion for creating a greener future.
AIFS Abroad Green Ambassador scholarship recipients are expected to collaborate with their on-site staff to plan and execute at least one “green” event during their program. This event should promote sustainability and climate education and awareness. Recipients will also be involved in sustainability-related content creation.
Read on to learn more about the Spring 2026 cohort of AIFS Abroad Green Ambassadors:
Maurycy Pedroza, Iowa State University
AIFS Abroad in Budapest, Hungary | Study Abroad Program
Major: Economics | Minor: Data Science
What does it mean to you to be a Green Ambassador?
“Being a Green Ambassador means I get the chance to bring my passion for sustainability into a completely new environment. It’s an opportunity to learn, adapt, and get involved in a community I’ve never been part of before. I’ll continue showing up with an open mind and excitement to grow from the experiences and people I meet along the way.”
How will this experience abroad tie back into your everyday life after you return from your program?
“This experience will help me bring new ideas and perspectives back home, especially for the organization I’ve already started in my community. While I know living abroad will challenge me, I am sure it will also inspire me and help me think about sustainability on a bigger scale. When I return, I want to take what I learn and use it to grow in the work I’m doing in my hometown.”
Felicity Crowe, Iowa State University
AIFS Abroad in San José, Costa Rica | Study Abroad Program
Major: Environmental Science | Minor: Spanish, Sustainability
What does it mean to you to be a Green Ambassador?
“To be a Green Ambassador is not only to promote sustainable practices abroad and within my home country, but to share my expertise and knowledge regarding sustainable solutions and learn from others in order to encourage a more sustainable future.”
How will this experience abroad tie back into your everyday life after you return from your program?
“The valuable and diverse knowledge that I will gain in regard to this experience will positively impact the variety of sustainable initiates that I have been working on within my community, university, and individually. Furthermore, this experience will help refine my career path in sustainability by exposing me to diverse environmental challenges and their solutions.”
In response to the overwhelming global climate crisis, AIFS Abroad has made sustainability a key priority when considering organizational, operational, and programming decisions. We understand that the only way to effectively combat this crisis and mitigate the effects of climate change is to drastically reduce our environmental impact. Therefore, we’ve committed to reaching carbon neutrality.
Our Green Initiative has three pillars:
- Green Business that includes auditing our own business practices and our program partners to reduce our consumption of finite resources and limiting our carbon footprint.
- Sustainability Education for both our program participants, through onsite engagement with local environmental projects, and within our industry as a leader in our field.
- Offsetting Carbon Emissions by purchasing verified carbon credits for all our program participants round trip flights to their program location.
