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- January 8, 2007
Political science major receives Rotary Scholarship
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Whether it's India to visit family or spending a semester studying abroad
in Spain, Rohini Ramnath has always felt comfortable when traveling.
"During my experiences in India I have become immersed in the culture
because of my heritage," the senior, who is majoring in political science,
international studies and Spanish, says. "And in Europe, the American
culture is so similar that I was comfortable there too.
"I'm interested in going to a culture that is not so familiar to
me. I want to throw myself out there and see how I react."
Ramnath will get that opportunity beginning next fall when she spends
an academic year in Ghana, studying at the University of Ghana in Accra.
She'll be able to make that journey after receiving a prestigious Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholarship with a value up to $24,000.
The scholarship program is the world's largest privately funded international
scholarship program, which furthers international understanding and friendly
relations among people of different countries. While abroad, the scholarship
recipients serve as ambassadors of goodwill to the people of the host
country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and
other groups.
Upon her return back to the U.S. Ramnath will be required to share her
experiences in Ghana with Rotarians and others.
"Our responsibility is to do everything we can to get a snapshot of the
culture, come back to present and teach that culture to others," she said.
"The Rotary tries to make a difference one person at a time and this is
a way we can do that."
Ramnath became interested in the program after learning of several other
Iowa State students who have received the scholarship in recent years
including Omar Tesdell, Ramsey Tesdell and Keegan Kautzky, all former
students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"I didn't want to go straight to graduate school," Ramnath said. "This
is an amazing opportunity to learn about a new culture and it fit into
place with my plans."
Ramnath applied to study in Ghana after an Iowa State friend had traveled
there and talked about her experience. She says that the Ghana educational
system is one of the strongest of the all developing countries in sub-Sahara
Africa.
"The more I researched it I found out that Iowa State has so many ties
with Ghana that it seemed like the right fit for me," she said.
After graduating in May from Iowa State, Ramnath hopes to be able to complete
a master's degree in international studies while in Ghana.
Rohini Ramnath
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