International Student House

Cordially invites you to the

Annual Gala

Friday, October 28th 2011

National Geographic Society Headquarters
1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Honoring

Gilbert “Gil” Grosvenor
Chairman Emeritus, National Geographic Society

Jane Hart
ISH Past President and longtime Board Member

Honorary Patron
J. Willard “Bill” Marriott, Jr.
Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.

Gala Co-Chairs
Grace Tompkins & Kathryn Horlick

6:00 pm • VI P Reception in Hubbard Hall
Special presentation by Gil Grosvenor
featuring a look into National Geographic’s Image Collection “vault”
for a viewing of classic photos

6:30 pm • Cocktail Reception
Viewing of NGS’s featured exhibit “Ocean Soul”
photographs by Brian Skerry

7:30 until 10:30 pm • Dinner, Award Presentation and Dancing

Complimentary Parking at M Street entrance between
16th and 17th Streets • Black Tie Optional

VIP Ticket ($350 per person)** Includes: 1 invitation to pre-gala reception (at ISH on October 27***); 1 invitation to VIP reception in Hubbard Hall with Gil Grosvenor featuring a look into National Geographic’s Image Collection “vault” for a viewing of classic photos; Cocktails; Benefit dinner seating, awards presentation and dancing.

Patron Ticket ($250 per person)** Includes: Cocktails; Dinner seating, awards presentation and dancing.

** All contributions above, less $175 per person attending the gala, $25 per person attending the October 27 reception and $25 per person attending the VIP reception in Hubbard Hall are tax deductible under applicable laws.

*** Reception at International Student House on Thursday, October 27 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

ISH Alumni Weekend

Thursday – Sunday, October 27 – 30, 2011

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Schedule of activities and registration information coming soon…Please check back!

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For more information or to receive a formal invitation, please contact
Judy Singer, Director of Development 202-232-4007, ext. 210
or by Email

In Uganda, rural girls hoping to complete their high school education (thereby expanding their life options) might never achieve their goals because the school is just too far away. In Honduras, a family’s livelihood may depend on the parents’ ability to get transportation to their workplace. In some parts of the world, getting to school, or to work, or to a doctor or hospital means a long, long walk.

That’s where Keith Oberg, a resident of ISH in 1975-76, and his organization Bikes for the World come in. Bikes for the World (BfW), a sponsored project of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, was founded, according to its mission statement, to “assist poor people overseas become more productive through providing affordable bicycles for personal transport to work, school, and health services….helping the poor earn more, learn more, and live more healthy lives.”
[Read more…]

Elham Manea was an ISH resident from 1993-95. She was interviewed by Deborah Hefferon, Board Member of International Student House -Washington, DC, in May 2011.

Born in Egypt, Elham Manea is of dual nationality – Yemeni and Swiss. She earned her Bachelor degree in Political Science from Kuwait University in 1989, and worked for three years as a teacher assistant at Sana’a University, Yemen. She won a Fulbright Scholarship and, in 1995, received her master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the American University, Washington. D.C. She then moved to Switzerland where she worked as a Radio and on -line journalist at the Arabic Service of Swissinfo/Swiss Radio International. In 2001 she earned her PhD in Political Science from Zurich University with a thesis titled “Regional Politics in the Developing World, the Case of the Arabian Peninsula”. She is now Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science at Zurich University, Switzerland.
[Read more…]