Brandon Jennings, at the age of 19, is already a global trendsetter. Recently, the African-American high school graduate signed with Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top basketball team, and began playing in Europe, with hopes of reaching the NBA.

A highly recruited basketball player, Jennings was unsure about meeting academic requirements for a college scholarship. So he went to Europe to gain experience he needs to  position himself for the NBA draft.

Though he is the first high school graduate to head overseas in such circumstances, there are some familiar faces over there.

• Josh Childress formerly with the Atlanta Hawks, accepted a $20 million, three-year deal offered by Euroleague basketball team Olympiacos.

• Former NBA star Earl Boykins  signed a one year, $3.5 million deal with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league.

 • Carlos Arroyo, formerly of The Orlando Magic, signed a three year contract with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, an Israeli team, worth $2.5 million

The global village is producing a new generation of international players who come in various shapes and sizes, and often pursue lofty goals.

There are the CEOs who head the international companies redefining the economic landscape. There are multinational nonprofits that connect people with noble causes a world away.  And there’s Jennings, a trailblazer who recently signed a multi-year agreement with Under Armour, the international maker of sports apparel.

“We are proud to welcome Brandon Jennings as the first Under Armour basketball athlete. He is an extremely talented and fearless player with the skill set to become a game-changer internationally,” said Kevin Plank, Under Armour Chairman and CEO.

Basketball, like so many other American industries, has gone global. The sports world is abuzz waiting to see if other gifted  high school athletes will seek to use European leagues to reach the NBA.

The global pathway to opportunity is not limited to those in sports. From coast to coast, a quiet campaign is underway on college campuses and in corporate boardrooms to get workers, African American especially, to think more globally, and see themselves as viable players on the international stage.

The Phelps Stokes Fund of Washington DC is among those groups spreading the modern-day gospel of global thinking. As the nation’s oldest continuously operating foundation serving the needs of African Americans, Native Americans, Africans and the rural and urban poor, it seeks to position coming generations to find their place in the world.

The Fund promotes study abroad; encourage overseas internships; and offers training modeled on Bunche’s philosophy to engage young people in global activism and leadership. It offers a tool kit to help member colleges and universities prepare students for the world of opportunity.

Bethany Dickerson, the associate director of education and leadership programs at the Phelps Stokes Fund, said today’s students must find their place in the world. She walks her talk. As a college student, she has studied abroad in Japan and London, and traveled extensively. She and her family have hosted exchange students from Japan, Paraguay and Liberia.

“It allowed me to gain international perspective and to find my place in the world,” she said. “These experiences can be life changing.”

Phelps Stokes is creating Ralph Bunche Societies at colleges and university, which seek to increase minority involvement in the international arena, prepare minority students to be active global citizens and leaders, and expand the academic and career opportunities for students, particularly minorities. The societies are named for Bunche, a renowned African American diplomat who stepped into some of the most difficult negotiations of his time, including confrontations between Jews and Arabs in Palestine in 1947 to 1949. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for those efforts.

These global missionaries seek to position so-called minority communities to be key contributors around the world. To do so, students need to know self, understand world history, and gain knowledge of other cultures so they can develop the skills for that arena, Dickerson said.  

“There is an increased effort to diversify the pipeline (of talent) and grow the next generation of leaders,” she said.

Resources:

* Studyabroad.com  http://www.studyabroad.com/

A leading source of information on educational opportunities for students to study in other countries. It includes summer study programs, service learning  and high school study abroad opportunities.

* http://www.transitionsabroad.com

Work Travel Living abroad.

* Phelps Stokes Fund

http://www.psfdc.org/

(Linda S. Wallace is The Cultural Coach. Her Web site is www.theculturalcoach.com. Her blog, Cultural IQ, is featured at www.tristatedefender.com)