February 7, 2005

Rotary International offers $25,000 scholarship for study abroad

The scholarship will cover the costs of transportation, food, lodging, tuition, books, educational supplies and some travel within the host country. A call out to learn more about the Ambassadorial Scholarship is planned for 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Thursday (2/10) in the Civil Engineering Building Room 3201. The deadline for applying is Feb. 23, the 100th anniversary of Rotary International.

The Ambassadorial Scholarship is available to U.S. citizens who have completed at least two years of college. Applicants must be attending Purdue and/or be from the Lafayette-West Lafayette area and attending other institutions of higher education. Eligible students should have a strong academic record and superior foreign language skills, said Lafayette Rotarian Christiane Keck, retired head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Purdue. Preference is given to students who wish to study in a country where English is not the primary language.

"We are looking for candidates interested in promoting international good will and understanding," Keck said.

Candidates are asked to submit a written application in both English and another language and may be invited to an oral interview in which a portion is conducted in the second language. Candidates then may be advanced to a district competition in Indianapolis. Final selection will be made by Rotary International and announced in November.

There is no restriction on the student's major or country of study, provided that a Rotary club is based in that country. More information and applications forms are available at http://www.rotary.org .

Submit completed applications to Professor Terry West, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 550 Stadium Mall Dr., Civil Engineering Building, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051; trwest@purdue.edu .