Jaclyn Basanes joined Meridian International Center’s GlobalConnect team as a Program Associate in September 2015. As a Program Associate, she provides administrative and logistical support for various exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassies abroad, the Foreign Press Center, and private clients. Most recently she has assisted in the implementation of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women-U.S. Department of State Entrepreneurship Program for Women in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Jaclyn graduated in May 2015 from Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), where she received a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. In the summer of 2013, she participated in the Chinese Language Institute’s 10 week Immersion Program in Guilin, Guangxi, China. There, she participated in Mandarin classes and lived with a Chinese homestay family. At Virginia Tech, she served two years as Culture Chair and as a member of the Rhonyll “Bong” Seballos Scholarship Board for the Filipino American Student Association (FASA). Jaclyn speaks conversational Mandarin and Tagalog, and beginner Japanese.