Nov 2012 Speaker - Maria KRISCH Ambassadorial scholar from Austria, fb quick Club Council

Maria said that the Rotary motto of 'Service above Self' is very close to her personal philosophy and she is very grateful to be sponsored by her local Rotary Club to study at Darwin College, Cambridge for a year and hosted by our club. She intends to make the very most of her time here, in 'such a high quality environment'. She presented our club with a banner from her home club of Saalfelden which we were very pleased to receive.

Maria comes from a small town near Salzburg, Austria, set in beautiful mountains. She decided at a young age to see the world and make a difference. For the last 7 years, since 18 years of age, she has been studying, teaching and volunteering abroad. She can now speak Austrian, German, Italian, Spanish, English and Latin. She is very interested in Philosophy and in finding out about herself and her motivations and sees herself as a work in progress.

She attended University in the Netherlands and California. During a year off after school she volunteered in some of the needy parts of Mexico and spent University vocations in Columbia and China. She is still very active with the project in Mexico where, as an undergraduate in Maastricht, Maria fundraised enough to set up a Bakery business to benefit local street children, hoping to give them financial support.

She has already made many good friends in Cambridge and despite working hard she does find time to relax, read, sing and row.

Rtn Paul Dover is her host.

The quick Council Meeting included a discussion about the proposed joint project with the Saffron Walden Rotary Club, which needs a swift decision.

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