Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University seniors Kolby Harper, a Spanish and political science double-major from Gurdon, Ark., and Amy York, a musical theatre major from Dallas, Texas, were both awarded the highly competitive Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships by Rotary International District 6170, on Saturday, Aug. 23.

“The scholarships are part of Rotary's commitment to enhance peace in the world and understanding among the nations,” said Ian Cosh, director of the Daniel R. and Betty Jo Grant Center for International Programs, former district governor of Rotary International District 6170 and a member of the Ambassadorial Scholar Selection Committee.

Cosh said the scholarship will benefit the students by allowing them to “study the foreign language of their choice within the context of that language. This will be a total immersion experience for them, which will allow them to strengthen their language skills to a remarkable degree.”

“I still don't fully believe that I have received the scholarship,” said Harper, who will be pursuing her studies of Spanish by spending a semester in a Spanish-speaking country. “This experience is going to help show me what other places are like outside of the United States.

“The scholarship is going to help me grow as an individual because of the new people I will meet and the experiences I will have,” Harper added. After studying abroad, she plans to attend law school.

“I have been trying to go to Russia for the past seven years,” said York regarding her desired location of study. She noted that the scholarship will also lay the platform for her career goals. “I plan to move to Russia permanently to work as a theatre director at an orphanage near St. Petersburg,” she explained. “This scholarship opportunity has paved the way for me to achieve that goal.”

Harper and York will both study abroad in the 2009-2010 academic year.

For more information about the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, visit the Rotary International website at www.rotary.org.

by Hayden Tucker