Thank you Rotary!

I don't think it would be appropriate to begin this blog without first and foremost thanking the Lake Murray-Irmo Rotary Club for the incredible opportunity to represent them in Monterrey, Mexico, for an academic year, studying Communication at Monterrey Tec and participating in community service. Also, a huge shout-out to Rod Funderburk, the Scholar Counselor for the Lake Murray-Irmo Club, without whom I would not have made it through the whole scholarship application process. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I am less than a month away from my move to Monterrey (arrival day for international students is August 3), and it hasn't really hit me yet. I think I have been so absorbed with arrangements for my move that I haven't really had much time to stop and process how much my life is about to change.

I spent a semester in Costa Rica two years ago with a study abroad program. That in itself changed my life immensely, so I can't even imagine what this next year is going to hold for me. Unlike my study abroad experience, which was with a program that planned everything out for me, I will be an independent graduate student whose responsibility it is to figure out travel, housing, visas, health insurance, etc. Furthermore, unlike studying abroad, which admittedly was designed to be more "abroad" than any studying, I will have the responsibility of being a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, which I am very much looking forward to.

For those of you who don't know, Rotary is a large, worldwide organization whose mission is "to provide service to others, to promote high ethical standards, and to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders" (see www.rotary.org for more information). I couldn't think of an organization that is more in-line with my own personal goals. I look forward to living in Monterrey, just a few hours away from Texas, and learning through observation and involvement how best to promote peace and goodwill between our two far-too-often conflicting countries.

As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, it will be my duty and goal to serve as an ambassador of goodwill, representing my sponsoring Rotary Club (Lake Murray-Irmo) to my host Rotary Club in Monterrey. To that end, I will be making presentations to my host Rotary Club (and others in Mexico) about my home country and culture, and then when I return I will present on my experience in Mexico to various Rotary Clubs in South Carolina.

Just a little more about me: I am originally from Boston, MA, but my family now lives in Memphis, TN. I graduated from the University of South Carolina in May 2008 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. Ever since I began Spanish classes my freshman year of college, I have been fascinated with the Latino culture, and interested in helping out Latino immigrants in a variety of capacities. I was very fortunate to get a job after college with a small nonprofit in Columbia, SC, called the Coalition for New South Carolinians (www.coalitionfnsc.org). And when I say small I don't lie: I was the only staff member. For a year I worked with the Coalition and enjoyed the challenges and rewards of developing a newer nonprofit and working to educate the public on immigrant issues and immigrants on their legal rights. I also had the incredible opportunity of working with several national organizations to push for federal and local immigration reform. Now, through my year in Mexico, I hope to learn how I can help the Mexican people on the other side of the border fence, and "bridge the gap" between our cultures.