A University of North Georgia (UNG) graduate student will be part of a select group of students invited to a Fulbright symposium to discuss Canada's role on the world stage.

Lauren Billet, 22, from Columbus, Georgia, is working on her master's degree in international affairs and will travel to Ottawa and Quebec City at the end of September as part of a group of 20 American and Canadian students selected to attend Youth Institute on Canada in the World.

The initiative, hosted by Fulbright Canada, is supported by Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. The students will engage in a week of debate, discussion, policy formulation, and cultural activities with Canadian diplomats, government officials, and the media; afterwards they will report their conclusions in a collaborative brief to be sent to the Canadian government for publishing.

"I'm very excited to be able to be part of a group that will have a published paper on our findings," said Billet. "From my research, I agree with Canada's stances on foreign policy, trade and its place in the world."

Billet said Fulbright Canada was considering only undergraduate students for the program at first, but through persistence, in the form of a number of phone calls and emails to the institute, she was able to secure a place at the forum.