I departed Australia on May 20 after eleven incredible months. I spent my last week in Rotary District 9600 walking the streets of Brisbane, attending a film festival, photographing a gypsy band, climbing at Mt. Ngungun, and visiting my host…
District 9600 has two other ambassadorial scholars. Terry Vo (center), originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas, is a student at UQ’s Masters of Governance and Public Policy. She is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Green Hills and has worked for…
The Rotaract of South Brisbane does some incredible work for local and international communities. I helped put together a grant application, and I was overwhelmed by all we had accomplished together. In my final presentation to the group, I encouraged…
Earlier today I spoke to my sponsor club, the Rotary Club of Knoxville. I discussed the highlights of my time in Australia, including my research, fundraising with the Rotaract Club of South Brisbane, the economic development forum in Kingaroy, and…
I was finally able to accept John & Diane Oxenford’s invitation to return to Bribie Island. They have a beautiful home built with sustainability in mind. Diane is an environmental activist in the community, so I learned a lot…
I gave my 27th and final presentation last night to the Rotary Club of Kippa-Ring, my host club. I loved sharing my experiences from the past ten months with them, discussing the beauty, friendliness, and service I have encountered along…
I attended the Rotary Peace Fellows’ Seminar, the conclusion of the fellows’ year and a half of study. The scholars represented more than ten countries, and their presentations exhibited their diverse backgrounds. We can expect great things from this…
Colin Scobie invited me to speak at Rotary Redcliffe Sunrise. They meet on Wednesday mornings at a cafe overlooking the bay. I met Colin at the first club meeting I went to last year. In addition to being an…
UQ’s Department of Geography, Planning & Environmental Management wrote an article about my research and the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. Great publicity for Rotary!
I learned a lot at the conference over the weekend and heard many great speakers. I enjoyed spending time with the Peace Fellows and the other two Ambassadorial Scholars, Erika Kataoka and Terry Vo. The highlight for me was catching…