U.S. Agency for International Development—Training, Internship, Exchanges, and Scholarship (TIES) Program Phase I, administered by Higher Education for Development (HED) in Washington, DC

On May 12, 2007, Katia Romero Leon graduated with a Master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics under the direction of professors Jack E. Houston, Jr., Glenn C.W. Ames, and Lewell F. Gunter. Katia is the second scholarship recipient to graduate under the Training Internships Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) project entitled "Universidad Veracruzana-University of Georgia: A Partnership for Rural Economic, Educational and Human Capital Development." In addition to her coursework and research at the University of Georgia, Katia participated in the Learn & Serve Hispanic Healthcare Pilot Program in Pinewoods Estates coordinated by the Office of International Public Service and Outreach, the Feria de Salud coordinated by Catholic Charities, and the national Food Distribution Research Society meetings.

Katia Romero Leon defends her thesis on agricultural diversification of marginal coffee farms in Zozocolco de Hidalgo, Veracruz on April 26, 2007, to the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Katia Romero Leon also presented a Power Point presentation during her public seminar preceding her thesis defense.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds over 55 TIES partnerships linking universities and institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Mexico. Higher Education for Development (HED) in Washington DC administers the TIES program for USAID. The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. For more information on USAID, visit www.usaid.gov.

SEE ALSO
	• TIES Phase I • TIES Phase II

Higher Education for Development (HED) engages the resources of higher education institutions in the United States and abroad for global social and economic development through human and institutional capacity building. HED assists the nation's six major higher education associations and their members in partnering with USAID, as well as other development agencies and donor organizations. For more information about HED, please visit: www.HEDprogram.org.

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Higher Education for Development (HED) office. The contents are the responsibility of Glenn C.W. Ames, TIES Partnership Director at the University of Georgia, and do not necessarily reflect the views of HED, USAID or the United States Government.

Katia took careful notes of the faculty comments on her thesis so that she could make final corrects before turning in her thesis to the graduate school.		Katia Romero Leon attends the spring commencement exercises at the Coliseum on the campus of the University of Georgia, May 12, 2007.
Katia is pictured here with her parents, Licia Leon Tadeo and Dàniel Romeo Castillo, who traveled from Xalapa to be present at her graduation ceremony.		Katia, post-graduation, with friends and fellow TIES Phase I graduate students, Jose Francisco Diaz and Saul Abarca (far left and far right).