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Westminster College Partners to Make Education Accessible to Sri Lankan Students

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Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Last month, Westminster College hosted a representative from Scholarships for USA with hopes of furthering learning opportunities for Sri Lankan students.

Padmasena Dissanayake, owner of Scholarships for USA, and Dr. Thomas H. Stein, vice president for admissions and marketing at Westminster, have developed a working agreement over the past ten years based upon trust and understanding to enhance the educational opportunities for Sri Lankans to receive a quality education at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa. just one hour north of Pittsburgh.

“We established this partnership with Scholarships for USA with the hopes of providing an affordable and high caliber education to students not only in our own country, but throughout the world,” said Stein. “This partnership helps to tell Westminster’s well-rounded story.”

This partnership allows students to be placed in a highly academic setting where they can interact and learn together and from each other. The relationship between Scholarships for USA students studying at Westminster is a total emergence in the culture of American life outside of a major city. This provides students with the opportunity to build life-long relationships with faculty and students and to receive a highly regarded education by American standards.

For more information, contact Westminster College’s Office of Admissions at 724-946-7100 or visit www.scholarshipsforusa.com.

About Scholarships for USA…

Scholarships for USA was inspired by the experience Priyanthi and Padmasena Dissanayake faced in gaining college admissions for their daughter, Sashikala Dissanayake in 2001. After nearly one year of exhaustive research, with valuable time and money spent on what bore little results, Sashikala was admitted to Concordia College Minnesota, with 100% financial assistance (including a student loan).

Following her noteworthy academic performance and conduct, the International Student Director mentioned that he would appreciate more students of her caliber to join Concordia College. Priyanthi agreed to bridge excellent local youth with the college, provided they were offered the same financial support received by Sashikala. Thus, Scholarships for USA (PVT) LTD began as a homegrown operation run by parents to assist other parents who were looking for affordable higher education options in USA.

**Photo (L-R): Diane Gabriel, executive secretary for the Office of Faith and Spirituality; Dr. Thomas H. Stein, vice president for admissions and marketing; Padmasena Dissanayake, owner of Scholarships for USA; Dr. Neal Edman, vice president for student affairs; and Clark Rolli, director of admissions technology.