Rotary Scholars

The Rotary Scholarships program seeks to further international understanding and friendships among people of different countries and geographical areas by encouraging recipients to commit to improving the quality of life in their own communities and countries and in the world community as well. It also attempts to create opportunities for students in low-income nations and create an equitable distribution of scholars throughout the world. The program encourages its scholars to cultivate lifelong relationships with Rotary. The program sponsors several types of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. While abroad, scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to a greater understanding of their host country.

Each year the Rotary Clubs in our District 1090 act as 'hosts' for a number of Rotary Scholars from overseas who come to study here for a year. Eynsham Rotary regularly hosts a scholar - see below for our most recent.

2015-2016

During the academic year 2015-2016, the Rotary Club of Eynsham will be host to Mariko Nakayama from Japan. She has been sponsored by district 2580 of Japan, will be studying for an MBA at the Said Business School at Oxford University and is based at Somerville College. We expect her to arrive in Oxford in mid September and her studies will start early in October.

During the academic year 2013-2014 there were 13 scholars in our Rotary District 1090 and we 'hosted' Sean Toal, who was studying 'Latin American Studies' at Wadham College, Oxford University. Sean arrived in Oxford in October 2013. 

2012-2013

During the academic year 2012-2013, Eynsham Rotary Club was host to the Ambassadorial Scholar Bethany Spare. She was Eynsham Rotary Club's first Ambassadorial scholar and arrived in Oxford in September 2012. Bethany comes from a small town near Dodge City, Kansas, USA and was a postgraduate from Kansas State University. She was studying Modern History at Keble College, Oxford (Modern History in Oxford starts around the 15th century!); her particular interest was the wives of Henry XIII.

Pauline Lowe and Geoff Powell from Eynsham Rotary Club acted as her counsellors, which mainly consisted of accompanying Bethany to various Rotary functions and presentations to other clubs. Phil and Ruth Spencer and Ron and Helen Feasey stepped in to assist Geoff and Pauline from time to time.

Bethany left Oxford at the end of July 2013.

Background

Rotary Scholarships, originally called Ambassadorial Scholarships, were founded in 1947. It is the oldest program of the Rotary Foundation and probably the best-known. Since 1947, over 40,000 men and women from 100 countries have received scholarships. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. About 800 scholarships were awarded for study in previous years with recipients studying in more than 70 countries.