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Stela Center is a recipient of the Rotary Ambassador for Peace Scholarship 2006-2007. With this support from Rotary, she completed her Masters degree in International Peace Studies from the United Nations Mandated University for Peace, in Costa Rica. For her undergraduate studies, Stela was a recipient of a scholarship from Wallin Education Partners, which made it possible for her to attend and graduate from college.

Stela is originally from Bosnia, but her family was forced to leave during the war that took place in the 1990s. After living in refugee camps for about a year and a half, Stela moved to Minnesota with her family.

Without speaking English, and not knowing much about the culture and the country, Stela needed all of the help she could get. Wallin Education Partners provided the needed support – the financial support made it possible to attend college, while the assigned advisor was there to help with navigating the large U of M campus, and encourage Stela during challenging times of college. Because of this support, and the support from Rotary, Stela was able to pursue a successful career working in the non-profit sector in Minnesota. She recently began working for Wallin Education Partners as their Director of Development.