CIEE BridgeUSA Celebration Tour Visits Myrtle Beach to Highlight How BridgeUSA Makes the United States Safer, Stronger, and More Prosperous
The third stop of CIEE's nationwide roadshow celebrates exceptional supporters of the U.S. Department of State's BridgeUSA Program
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is hitting the road to Myrtle Beach next week for the third stop on its nationwide BridgeUSA Celebration Tour, spotlighting how international exchange programs powered by the U.S. Department of State are making America safer through diplomacy, stronger through global collaboration, and more prosperous through innovation and shared opportunity.
The BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel program brings international college students to live and work in the United States during their summer break, helping more than 4,000 businesses, large and small, across the United States expand and extend the tourist season, leading to enhanced local economic benefits while injecting more than $1.2 billion into the broader U.S. economy each year.
In South Carolina, the CIEE BridgeUSA Celebration Tour will recognize and celebrate the community and business leaders of Myrtle Beach whose support makes the BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel program possible. We will also celebrate the dedicated, hardworking BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel participants at the 11th Annual Ambassador Johnny and Angie Young Civic Leadership Summit.
"BridgeUSA provides a significant economic and cultural benefit to hundreds of communities across the United States," said Martine Mangion, Senior Vice President, Inbound Exchange Programs at CIEE. "Many seasonal businesses rely on BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel participants to enhance and extend their tourist season. In fact, some of our hosts are able to stay open an additional 30-45 days longer than they would have without BridgeUSA participants."
"The BridgeUSA program is integral to our business success and community impact," said Garrett Watts, Chief Operations Officer of Lazarus Entertainment Group, an American company that operates amusement parks and attractions in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. "We proudly welcome international participants who bring diverse perspectives and cultural insights that strengthen our workplace. This initiative creates meaningful opportunities for professional development and cross-cultural exchange, benefiting both the participants and our organization."
BridgeUSA Makes America Safer and Stronger
BridgeUSA programs bolster America's national security and strengthen America's public diplomacy by fostering mutual respect between Americans and people of other nations. BridgeUSA participants return home and spread word of their positive experience in the United States which improves the American image abroad and makes our country safer.
BridgeUSA Makes America More Prosperous
Most importantly, BridgeUSA participants enable local economies to prosper by expanding and extending the tourism season, allowing businesses to employ more Americans for a longer seasonal period, and allowing hundreds of local businesses—from laundromats to general stores, from local diners to grocery stores—to extend the duration of their peak-season sales surge, compounding the positive economic impact in each community.
"The core premise of the BridgeUSA program is that international students come to America at their own expense on temporary visas to help American businesses and American communities thrive," said James P. Pellow, president and CEO of CIEE. "BridgeUSA students pay their way to come to America, they help make American businesses more profitable while they are here, and then they return to their home countries with a deeper knowledge and respect for American culture and American values, including the power of democracy and free speech. If BridgeUSA did not exist, someone would need to invent it, as it truly enriches all Americans."
About the Young Civic Leadership Summit
Named for Ambassador Johnny and Mrs. Angie Young in recognition of the couple's lifelong dedication to public service, public diplomacy, and building bridges between people and nations, CIEE's annual summit for international changemakers brings together exceptional BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel participants to receive intensive training on leadership, practice intercultural collaboration, and develop a deeper understanding of how to affect positive change in their communities and our world.
About the CIEE BridgeUSA Celebration Tour
In June, the CIEE BridgeUSA Celebration Tour began in Ohio and Kentucky with stops at the iconic Cedar Point Amusement Park, the famous Kings Island Amusement Park, and family-favorite Kentucky Kingdom. In July, CIEE senior leaders visited stunning Yellowstone National Park and majestic Big Sky, Montana. In September 2025, we celebrate BridgeUSA in San Antonio, Texas.
If you are interested in participating in a future CIEE BridgeUSA Celebration event, please reach out to Carye Duffin, CIEE Senior Vice President of External Affairs, at CDuffin@ciee.org.
About CIEE:
CIEE builds bridges between different people, different countries, and different cultures. For 75 years, we have helped young people participate in high-quality international exchange and study abroad programs that bring the world together. Since 1947, CIEE has supported more than one million student exchanges for participants from more than 140 countries. We change lives, our alumni change the world. Learn more at ciee.org.
Media Contact: Leslie Taylor, ltaylor@ciee.org, (207) 553-4274
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SOURCE Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE)