College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

International ambassador

Rohini Ramnath is the latest in a series of LAS students to receive the Rotary Scholarship.
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," says the senior, who is majoring in political science, international studies and Spanish. "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.