Ambassadorial Scholarship Program

My studies are going well but I am just entering the crunch time of the semester with essays, presentations and final exams looming over me. However, I am relishing the experience of being a student once again and immersing myself in these new subjects and find that I am beginning to understand what I want to do and accomplish in the future. Tobin Postma Of course, none of this would be possible without the help and support of Rotary, especially my host counsellor here â?" Chris Bailey from the Rotary club of Derby-Mercer. He and his wife, Margaret, have been amazing. They have driven me to District Conferences and Foundation Seminars but also to landmarks such as The Beatles Museum in Liverpool and Chatsworth Hall in the Peak District. They have fed me and fed me and fed me â?" the key to any student`s heart â?" and treated me as a member of their family. Chris has also been very supportive of my studies and very effective at organizing my speaking schedule - a task that is not easy due to my heavy course load â?" but he is very skilled at scheduling, a talent I am beginning to wish I had. He has also been kind enough to tutor me on my presentation skills as he is an accomplished public speaker. I have not had the opportunity to visit many clubs in my area, as most days my classes do not finish until 9pm, but I have been to a RIBI LINK Weekend, a District Conference and a District Foundation Seminar. The LINK weekend took place during my first week in England. It was amazing to see so many other scholars, more than 100, from around the globe. We went on a tour of Bournemouth Harbour and then attended an amazing evening filled with speeches, food, music and square dancing. What was most memorable was how quickly all the scholars became friends. This to me is what Rotary is all about â?" making friendships â?" and the ease that this seems to happen is a testament to the Rotary Districts around the world that select us to embark on these ambassadorial adventures. The next weekend I traveled with Chris and Margaret to Southport, which is on the west coast of England, for their club's District Conference. Hundreds of Rotarians descended upon this seaside town and as one Rotarian aptly noted, "it is like spending a weekend with your grandparents...and three hundred of their friends". Luckily, I have always loved hanging out with my grandparents and this weekend was no exception. My first major speaking engagement was on November 8th when I, alongside the other two Ambassadorial scholars from the University of Nottingham (Adam and Annie), gave a talk to a Rotary Foundation Seminar. Each of us had a different speaking style and it enabled us to cover the same topic in three distinct ways. We left with inflated egos from all the compliments and diaries filled with future speaking dates. The three of us have become great friends and despite coming from different backgrounds and studying different subjects we have one thing in common â?" Rotary. There is strength in numbers, no question, and with that strength comes the opportunity to do great things and make great changes in this world. I think the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program is one of the programs that Rotarians should be most proud of. This is because during the LINK weekend I shared a room with a hundred future graduates, a hundred future leaders, a hundred future agents of change, a hundred future activists, a hundred future humanitarians, a hundred future friends and most of all, a hundred future Rotarians.