2000-2001
I was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Cochabamba, Bolivia, sponsored by the Rotary Club of York, Maine. I can easily say this was the best experience of my life, for so many reasons. From the minute I stepped foot in the Rotary Club of York, I felt welcomed. My year in Bolivia changed my life completely. Not only did I come back fluent in Spanish, I came back with a second home in Cochabamba that I will treasure all my life. I believe this year abroad had a lot to do with my choice of majors in college (international relations, minor in economics, certificate in Latin American studies) and my personal and professional development ever since.
MAY 2004
I first heard about Rotary's Ambassadorial Scholarship program at an event for Truman Scholars in Liberty, Missouri. Of course at this point I knew all about Rotary from my Youth Exchange days, and was thrilled to see they had additional opportunities. I tucked away the idea in the back of my brain.
SPRING 2005
One afternoon as I casually pondered what to do with the rest of my life, going through all those ideas tucked away in the back of my brain, I once again came across the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship program. At this point I was working at the U.S. Department of State's Office of Foreign Missions in Coral Gables, Florida. Not only was I feeling less than stimulated at work, I was anxious to start my master's degree (just need to find the right program!) and definitely itching to go overseas again. I contacted the Rotary Club of Coral Gables to find out more about the scholarship. From the first moment I made contact with this club I felt welcomed. They invited me to a club meeting so I can get more information, and I was taken back to the first time I attended a York, Maine Rotary Club meeting. Of course it was a different club in a city 1500 miles south, but the people were just as friendly and just as welcoming. The club interviewed me and agreed to sponsor me. I used my best google skills to seek out the top public policy programs abroad and finally settle on five potential study institutions and countries. My list: Hong Kong, the UK, Hungary and Singapore (in no particular order, except that Hong Kong was my #1 choice. I also started preparing for the district interview, which was in august, where the district committee would decide if they wanted to recommend to Rotary International that they sponsor me.
AUGUST 2005
District interview: I had done my homework, and had interviewed so many times before you'd think I wouldn't be nervous, but the committee had ALSO done their homework, and it showed. Most of the questions were somehow related to my #1 choice study institution and country, the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong. I was asked questions like, "How do you feel about the U.S. policy towards Hong Kong, China and Taiwan?" "What do you plan to do to act as a Rotary Ambassador?" and "What do you plan to do with a degree in public policy?" They interviewed eight candidates that day for three spots. I was told I would hear in late August or early September.
SEPTEMBER 2005
I finally received the long-awaited letter from Rotary District 6990 confirming that they passed my name to Rotary International for confirmation and final selection of study institution and country.
DECEMBER 2005
I received a letter from Rotary International confirming that I have been approved for study in Ho... BUDAPEST, HUNGARY?! Budapest was my 3rd choice, and I had been told that ALMOST everyone got their 1st choice, and everyone else got their 2nd. Hmm. Even though I had been mentally preparing for Hong Kong for the past FOUR months (!), I was pleased with the selection. I had to ditch my Chinese tapes and start trying to find someone who spoke Hungarian to tutor me. Great news- who woul
d have thought there'd be a Hungarian-American church and social club right here in Miami?! I contact the pastor and she was excited to meet me. I made a plan with her to visit the church one Sunday in January and she says we can discuss the language then. I also started working on my application to the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, since my scholarship was contingent on my acceptance at CEU.JANUARY 2006
I visited the Hungarian church for the first time and immediately met someone to be my tutor- his name is Tamas; he's about my age, from the Budapest area and is staying with a host family in Coral Gables for a few months to learn English. It is the ideal situation for both of us- he will teach me Hungarian, I will help him with his English. We started right away and for the next two months met once or twice a week, at his host family's home in Coral Gables or at the church on Sundays. Here is a picture of Tamas and I at the church. In January I also completed my application to CEU and sent it off.
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