When he was 15 years old, Aaron Brazelton went to Serbia for the first time, as one of six Americans selected to participate in an exchange program with Serbian youth. It was his first time leaving the country, but it would not be his last.

“Going to Serbia really made me step outside of my comfort zone, delve into myself a little bit more and really find out who I stood for,” Brazelton said.

Six years later, Brazelton is now the founder and executive director of the Honors College Serbia Fellowship Experience. The fellowship, the only one of its kind in the United States, will sponsor five faculty members and 14 UA students, who will travel to Serbia for two weeks, live with a host family and work with Serbian youth in May, Program Director Mary Lieb said.

“We are going in to build bridges between U.S. American youth and Serbian youth to prove that just because we are separated by 8,000 miles of sea and land doesn’t mean that we are any different than one another,” Brazelton said.

Fellows will be divided into three groups once in Serbia. Some will be working with the University of Belgrade, some with the University of Novi Sad and others in the village of Blace. During the spring semester, they will develop presentations about social issues in their local American communities to present to Serbian youth, who will, then present the social issues facing their communities.

“A lot of the social justice issues that Serbia has, America has completely mirrored,” Brazelton said.

The program will truly be an exchange between both Serbian and American citizens, Brazelton said. While in Serbia, the UA fellows will work to present solutions for the issues the Serbian youth presented, and the Serbian youth will do the same for the UA fellows.

“When we have these simple conversations and these dialogs, we can see that common humanity that is shared,” Brazelton said.

Sonja Smilijkovic, a Serbian citizen who lives and teaches in Blace, said the program could not have come at a more opportune time for Serbian youth.

“Both Serbian youth and American youth needed, or actually, craved this program,” she said. Brazelton met Smilijkovic on his first trip to Serbia, and she now serves as one of the Serbian representatives for the program. Both of them said they believe the program has the ability to transform the future of their two countries.

“Serbian students are the future of Serbian government, and American students are the future of American government,” Brazelton said. “If we start now with youth, then we can see better international relations between the two countries in the future.”

Smilijkovic said she could already see differences in her community after Brazelton took a preliminary visit last May.

“Lots of people met them, and they were really amazed at how friendly oriented they are, and they really felt them close. They took to them at that very time,” she said.

Brazelton describes the program as an investment, the ultimate results of which may not be seen for many years to come. He and his executive team hopes to see the program continue to grow, develop and sustain itself.

“Producing that global citizenry is one of the aims of the program,” Associate Director Al Gilani said.

Although housed in the Honors College, the program receives support through the Division of Student Affairs, the Chancellor’s office, the UA office of the president, the U.S. State Department, various bureaus, three Serbian universities, Serbian municipal government and the Serbian ministry of youth, Gilani said. Brazelton said much of the program’s success is credited to the fellowship’s supporters, but the common goal of the program is what continues to drive further developments.

“The reason we are doing it all is to help break down these barriers that tend to separate people and to build bridges,” Brazelton said. “This fellowship is more than about the partnerships we have, it is more than about the support that we have, it’s more [than] the overqualified executive staff team members that we have. It is about our common goal, which is humanity and conversation.”