Two Bermudians have been selected for a first-of-its-kind international summer programme in the Azores.

Sydney Rego, 24, and Catrina Furtado, 19, both of Azorean descent, were chosen for the Luso-American Development Programme’s Flad Summer Programme.

The pair will travel to São Miguel and Terceira for a two-week academic and cultural exchange in July.

Richard Ambrósio, chairman of the Portuguese Cultural Association of Bermuda and Bermuda representative on the Azorean Diaspora Council, said he was “immensely proud” of the two women and happy to represent them.

He added: “Both young women are outstanding representatives of Bermuda’s Azorean community and we have every confidence that they will make the most of this extraordinary opportunity.”

The Portuguese Association of Bermuda offered the study abroad programme in partnership with the Azorean Diaspora Council.

It was organised by the Luso-American Development Programme in partnership with the University of the Azores and the islands’ regional government.

Ms Rego and Ms Furtado were selected by a seven-member council of prominent Azorean-Bermudians for their academic skill, motivation and leadership abilities.

Ms Rego is completing a master’s degree in the foundations of clinical psychology at Bournemouth University in England.

She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with distinction from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, where she maintained a position on the Dean’s Honours List.

For her bachelor’s degree, Ms Rego wrote an honours thesis on consumer behaviour and sustainability.

She has formerly worked as a clinical psychology assistant at Solstice and as a youth worker at the Family Centre to support young people across several programmes.

Ms Rego said a first visit to Água de Alto in São Miguel, where her paternal grandfather was from, deepened her connection to her heritage and inspired her to explore it.

The Portuguese Association of Bermuda added: “As a psychology student, she understands the importance of a strong sense of cultural identity and sees the Flad Summer Programme as a meaningful opportunity for herself and her fellow Azorean-Bermudian participants to solidify that connection.”

Ms Furtado is a first-year student at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, studying for her B.Sc in Marine Biology.

Her previous experience includes working at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and receiving a marine science internship at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Ms Furtado did conservational fieldwork in Borneo as a junior volunteer representative of the Bermuda Zoological Society and has been an advanced open water PADI-certified diver since age 15.

The Portuguese Association of Bermuda explained that Ms Furtado’s connection to her roots had been fostered by family visits to São Miguel and active involvement in Bermuda’s Portuguese community.

Mr Ambrósio thanked the University of the Azores, Flad and the Azorean Government for their partnership, as well as the “generous community donors whose support has helped fund these places”.