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Four students from the United States will be attached to several government Ministries for 10 months as part of the Fulbright Clinton Fellowship.
Andrew Ripglinger, Tim Fadgen, Charles Patrick Shields and Jessica Watterson were welcomed by the US Embassy Charge d’Affaire, Peter Ganser during a function held at Vailima on Thursday night.
Established in 2012, the Fulbright Clinton Fellowship allows students from the US to serve in professional placements in foreign government ministries or institutions and gain experience.
In welcoming the students, Mr. Ganser was proud of the scholars for representing their country.
“I am happy that you will be able to work with colleagues and other ministries,” he said. “You have incredible backgrounds and I was impressed with your CVs (Curriculum Vitae) and qualifications. I look forward to seeing you progress here with your work.”
The scholars are keen to get started. Andrew Riplinger, who will work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) says his biggest assignment for the next ten months is to update the National Plan for Climate Change.
“It was last drafted in 2007 and we need to update it,” said Riplinger. “My assignment is to assist colleagues in updating the plan and adjust to change of climate change.”
As for Tim Fadgen, he has the opportunity to work with the Samoa Law Reform Commission, the Office of the Attorney General and Justice Secretariat.
Every week Fadgen divides his time between the three offices. Obtaining his degrees from New Zealand, Fadgen is aware of the similarities and differences between the laws practiced in the countries.
One thing that amazed him is discovering that Samoa and American Samoa have a different system where a separate court for Land and Titles exist.
Charles Patrick Shields studied Information Technology. He will work with the Ministry of Communication and Information and Technology.
From what he has seen in the country, Shields believes Samoa will be a different country in the 10 years with the availability of mobile phones and the expansion of internet.
“There has been a lot of change in telecommunication since Digicel launched in 2006,” he said. “We now see a lot of smartphones and policies are needed in place to safely use these technologies.”
Shields also pointed out that one of the things he was impressed with is the Feso’otai Center.
He said it is a great idea to have the center being connected and out in the rural villages.
In 2005 to 2007, Shields was working as a trainer and teacher at Saint Joseph’s College, Alafua.
Jessica Watterson will work with the Ministry of Health as an assistant to the Legal Adviser.
It’s not the first time Ms. Watterson has worked in Samoa. Just last year, she was in the country to do her internship at the same Ministry.
“Samoa has the potential to achieve good health and I hope to contribute in a small way in the health sector,” said. Ms. Watterson.
“As you are aware there are problems with NCD and other areas but I know Samoa has great strength with fish, vegetables and other foods that are good for health.”
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