Lindner College of Business Scholar Selected for William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship

Gregory Ziton had a dream of one day traveling to the Middle East. Now, as a sophomore at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, that dream will become a reality.  

Ziton, BBA ’17, has been accepted into the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship program to study business at the American University in Dubai for the spring 2015 semester.

The scholarship, given through the Clinton Presidential Foundation, provides American students the chance to expand their educational and cultural horizons by studying in the Arab world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.

 The Cleveland native with Syrian roots was selected for his academic achievement and interest in Middle Eastern and Islamic cultures. He says he is eager for the opportunity.

“I view this trip as a way to gain first-hand knowledge and understanding about a part of the world that I have only been exposed to through family and friends,” he says.

While at American University, Ziton, a Marvin P. Kolodzik Business Scholar and Cincinnatus Presidential Scholar, will take business courses and Middle Eastern studies. As a finance and accounting major with a minor in business analytics at Lindner, Ziton says being taught the importance of functioning in a global business environment is one thing; experiencing it is another.

“The importance of gaining exposure to cities that play crucial roles in the business world can’t be understated,” he says. "I also desire to learn about Dubai’s extreme transformation over the last few decades, and how it drives the economies of the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East and the world."