Matthew Sudnik, ’01, Director of the Baginski Scholars Program, was one of four teachers from the Greater Pittsburgh area awarded a Fellowship for the 2015 Study Tour to Turkey for Educators, a joint collaboration between the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Turkish Cultural Foundation, and the World Affairs Councils of America.

This summer, Mr. Sudnik will travel with 48 other middle and high school social studies teachers from 12 states to Turkey as part of a Teacher Study Tour.

The Study Tour will visit Istanbul, Gelibolu (Gallipoli) and Troy, Canakkale, Bursa, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Konya and Catalhoyuk, Cappadocia and Ankara. Throughout the tour, the teachers will have the chance to visit and learn about world-famous cultural, archaeological, architectural and natural sites of Turkey and meet with experts, educators and representatives of Turkish civil society. Around 527 teachers from across the United States have already visited Turkey since 2007 under this program.

The study tours are the second tier of a program called Spotlight on Turkey, a nationwide educational program organized by TCF, the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) and its local chapters. It is funded by a major TCF grant. The year-round program includes a Teacher Workshop on Turkey, the Teacher Study Tours and various cultural programs for students and the general public later in the fall.