Rotary After Hours was presented with a unique opportunity to be the US sponsor club for our first-ever, Rotary Global Scholar. What in the world is a Global Scholar? We're glad you asked!
Global Grants are for Graduate Students Studying Abroad in One of Rotary’s Causes:
Promoting peace
Fighting disease
Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
Saving mothers and children
Supporting education
Growing local economies
Protecting the environment
Global Grant Scholarships
Rotary clubs can apply to The Rotary Foundation for district and global grants to support scholarships. $7.5 Million in scholarships, on average, are given out by Rotary each year. Being the sponsor club comes at no cost to our club, other than signing off on the application and report. Our club will be featured as the US Sponsor Club in the District Newsletter. All budgeting and financing are handled at the District. Scholarships last from one to four years and can include an entire degree program. Global grant scholarships are funded using District Designated Funds (DDF), cash, and directed gifts and endowment earnings. The Rotary Foundation provides an 80% World Fund match for all DDF contributions. There is no financial commitment, just a personal opportunity to get to know a really special person.
Meet our 2023-24 Global Scholar, Tierney Hall!
Tierney Hall graduated from Jefferson High School (WI) in 2017. While in high school, she had the opportunity to start an Interact club at her school, in which she received a scholarship from to help fund her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At UW-Madison, she received a dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies with distinction in each and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. After graduating, she transitioned to a full-time position with the WI State Refugee Health and Tuberculosis programs. During this time, she worked on COVID-19 support for refugee communities, nationwide COVID-19 refugee health equity initiatives, TB health education, and the Afghan and Ukraine resettlement efforts.
Tierney will be starting her second year of graduate study at the University of Oxford, where she is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy in International Relations, researching international health and continuing to pursue principles that closely align with Rotary goals, especially as it relates to Disease Prevention and Treatment, and values of local and global citizenry.
She has received many awards, including the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship (2017) and the Tommy G. Thompson Leadership Award (2020). In addition, she can speak Arabic, Russian and Spanish.
Upon interviewing and receiving word she received the scholarship, Tierney said- "This is going to be such a huge help and I am so grateful and also so excited to be a more official member of the Rotary family!!!"
Tierney will be starting a blog up and is an excellent writer. Our club will be able to follow along with her life at Oxford. Her parents, Lester and Wendy are originally from the La Crosse area and have recently moved back to the area. Her little sister, Mariah resides in Rochester. Tierney loves to read. She will also be connected with a Rotary Club in England, which may present our club with an opportunity to virtually do a joint meeting or projects in the future!
