Kevin F. Adler '07 has been selected as a Rotary District Ambassadorial Scholar (formerly known as Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar). Beginning in September 2010, he will travel to Oaxaca, Mexico, for approximately nine months to study Spanish at the Instituto Cultural Oaxaca, conduct public service projects with the local population, and give a series of presentations and speeches to Rotary Clubs and government officials as an "Ambassador of Goodwill."
Adler, who said he was "delighted and grateful" when he learned he had been chosen for the award, was a politics major and diplomacy and world affairs minor at Oxy, from Livermore. He is currently pursuing a master's of philosophy in sociology from the University of Cambridge.
"I applied for the Rotary scholarship because I knew it would offer me the unique opportunity to learn Spanish the way I always wanted to: through extended cultural immersion and communication with native Spanish speakers," he said. "I am also a great admirer of Rotary International, so I was thrilled to apply for a Rotary-sponsored program that would permit me to live in Mexico, study Spanish, conduct service projects with local populations, and represent my home communities."
After completing his stint in Mexico, Adler plans to go to business school, and continue his work as executive director of BetterGrads, a college access organization that connects high school students with a national network of college peer advisors that he started in May 2009.
Ambassadorial Scholarships, the Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program, was founded in 1947. Since then, nearly 38,000 men and women from about 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. Nearly 800 scholarships were awarded for study in 2005-06. Through grants totaling approximately $500 million, recipients from about 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations.
The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas. The program sponsors several types of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. For more information, go to www.rotary.org.
