Your passport to global affairs

NCWA's Middle School Academic WorldQuest Gets Students Involved

For the second year in a row, Community School of Naples’ top Academic WorldQuest team won NCWA's AWQ Middle School competition.

The event was held at the Community School’s gymnasium, drawing 97  competitors from 25 teams and four Naples middle schools. More than 100 parents, supporters and volunteers took part in the event.

The winning team included eighth graders John Fontana, captain; and Justin Cantor, Kayden Robinson and Steven Fontana. The Fontana brothers are twins. To achieve the championship, the students met after school to review general national and international affairs topics provided by NCWA.

“The students are the reason they are successful,” said coach Scott Miles. “We don’t coach. We get them involved. The Community School curriculum –geography, history, government – gives them the background.”

AWQ has been an important complement to the social studies curriculums in SW Florida schools.

“It’s a learning experience they can’t get any other place,” said Mikie Stroh, Collier County Schools social studies coordinator. “It’s an amazing experience for students to show their knowledge they are learning at school about the world.”

Second and third places went to Pine Ridge Middle School; and Oakridge Middle School, respectively. Pine Ridge’s team was Sidharth Kamath, Rylan Wise, Aditya Yadav and Julian Connor Bartruff and coach Darah Perini. Third Place went to Oakridge Middle School, with Arnav Dabas, Zeke Newbery, Tulip Sai Bheemanapalli and CJ Sauer, and coaches Andrea Polanco and Taylor Wilson. Collier County middle schools participating were Community School of Naples, Oakridge Middle School, North Naples Middle School and Pine Ridge Middle School.

For more than a decade, NCWA has hosted Academic WorldQuest competitions for middle schools and high schools in Southwest Florida. AWQ inspires high school students and teachers across the United States to embrace a culture of global engagement. Nationwide, more than 40 local World Affairs Councils host community Academic WorldQuest competitions throughout the year, engaging more than 3,000 students in schools across diverse geographic and economic lines.

NCWA Awards Twelve Scholarships
For Summer Study in U.S. and Abroad

The Naples Council on World Affairs has awarded 12 summer scholarships totaling $70,000 to high-achieving high school juniors from Collier and Lee Counties. The 2025 scholarship awards mark the 25th year of NCWA’s partnership with SWFL schools. 

In keeping with NCWA’s mission, the scholarships are focused on international relations education. The programs take place in July at some of the most prominent universities in the world, both in the United States and abroad.

• North America: Students will attend academies on international affairs, national security, and other topics at Georgetown, American, Tufts, and Harvard universities. 
  
• International: Students broaden their experience and understanding of global issues, culture, language, and politics through a homestay, visiting historical sites with local experts, and formal language instruction. Several students were selected for the Experiment in International Living in Germany, Japan, and Costa Rica. Another was chosen to participate at Oxford University.
  

The 2025 NCWA scholarship winners are:

• Mason Lyba, Aubrey Rogers High School, EIL program Japan: Language and Culture.
  
• Victoria Busch, Fort Myers High School, EIL Germany.
  
• Clayton Grass, Gulf Coast High School and student at FGCU, EIL Germany.
  
• Siri Kolli, Aubrey Rogers High School, EIL Costa Rica.
  
• Catherine Saadeh, Gulf Coast High School, Oxford Academia International Relations and Diplomacy.
  
• Cailyn Andrews, Golden Gate High School and dually enrolled in both Florida State College and FGCU, Harvard C-Change Youth Summit on Climate, Equity and Health.
  
• Alexa Parsons, Gulf Coast High School, Jinny & John Johnson Scholarship to Tufts University program in international relations.
  
• Ilormise Sirenord, Lorenzo Walker High School, completing dual degree at Florida Southwestern State College, American University School of International Service.
  
• Vibhav "V.J." Nimmagadda, Gulf Coast High School, Georgetown University, International Relations.
  
• Sebastian Canizares, Fort Myers High School, Georgetown University, International Relations.
  
• Arya Agarwal, Bishop Verot High School, Georgetown University, National Security.
  
• Arya Rajaran, Gulf Coast High School, Georgetown University, National Security.
  

2024-25 Lecture Schedule

Out of Peril and Chaos:
Can We Find Order?

3:45 and 7:30 pm
Naples United Church of Christ
5200 Crayton Rd., Naples FL 34108

March 24:  "Artificial Intelligence," Chris Meserole, an expert on AI safety.

April 7:  "Immigration," Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President of International Bank of Commerce, chairman, National Immigration Forum.

Archived videos of the lectures that have been presented to date are available for members to view. Click here:

November 4:  “Pipe Dream or Strategic Windfall: What the United States Should Expect from India in a Changing World Order” Dr. Daniel S. Markey, a senior advisor on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace and a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

November 18:  Germany, NATO and Nuclear Doctrine: “Germany after Merkel - Still a Leader of the Free World?” Dr. Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University in the Center for German and European Studies.

December 2:  "Are We Embedded In a New Cold War? Will Russia Win?" Ian J. Brzezinski leads the Brzezinski Group and is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on Strategy and Security. 

December 9:  “The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present and Future in the Middle East”, Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations. A special discussion of his book by the same title was held December 9. 

January 6: "The Next World Order: Does Europe Still Matter?" Dr. Charles A. Kupchan, Council on Foreign Relations and professor at Georgetown University.

January 27:  "Will China Become the World’s Strongest Power?" Ryan Hass

February 10:  "Iran’s New Patrons," Dr. Ray Takeyh, expert on Iran and Middle East, Council on Foreign Relations.

Friday, February 21:  The Ninth Biennial National War College Seminar: Multiple speakers, “Our National Security”

March 10:  "Lessons Learned from Traveling the Negotiator's Highway," Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Some of the Many Benefits of Membership in NCWA

A Deep Dive into Critical Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Issues

The Naples Council on World Affairs (NCWA) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to educate, inspire and engage our community in international affairs and global issues. 

Member benefits: Lectures by foreign affairs experts; small nonpartisan Great Decisions discussion groups; rich student programs, including Model UN, Academic WorldQuest competitions for middle school and high school students; scholarships for North American and overseas study; support for teachers, schools and students' careers in international affairs; book club, and opportunities for members to get involved in meaningful programs!

Sign Up for GlobalPost (formerly DailyChatter)

This informative and nonpartisan daily emailed newsletter on international events is a quick way to stay current and enhance your understanding of our lectures and Great Decisions discussions. It is a free benefit of NCWA membership! Click here to subscribe.

Travel with WACA Members

NCWA members enjoy the companionship of like-minded explorers when they explore the world with the World Affairs of America (WACA) travel program. Administered by the Philadelphia Council, tours led by Council members go to a wide variety of destinations. For more information, go to www.wacphila.org.