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Thursday, July 07, 2005 Rotary program promotes cultural tiesBy VICTORIA ALDRICH | News-Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH — Spanish isn’t Lisa Dunn’s native tongue or even a part of her heritage, but it’s opened a world of opportunity for the 25-year-old bilingual education teacher.
As a Spanish and international relations student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, she spent a semester as an exchange student in Seville, Spain. With the assistance of a Rotary Foundation of Rotary International Ambassadorial Academic-Year Scholarship, she’ll begin graduate business studies this summer at Mexico’s Tecnologico de Monterrey. “It gives you a real experience just to be in Mexico as a foreigner surrounded by native Mexicans,” the former Daytona Beach resident said on Thursday while discussing her trip with Daytona Beach Rotary West members. For two years, Dunn has taught kindergarten and second grade classes in the Houston Independent School District, the nation’s largest public school system, through Teach for America, a program that recruits teachers for low income areas. Immersing herself in Mexico’s cultural traditions and taboos will help her to understand the issues facing children from non-English speaking homes, especially those who Dunn said may assume adult roles early in life. “With kids who are 7 or 8, often they’re doing the translating at the grocery store and taking on so many responsibilities,” she said. In the future, Dunn said she plans to combine her teaching and business skills with work in immigrant issues. Helping to build a strong foundation for Hispanic-owned businesses, a growing force in America, is part of that mission. “The fact is that the Latino population is growing so quickly in this country, that the business population is increasing,” Dunn said. “The thing about U.S. culture is that, once you get on a track studying something, you stay on it. To have the opportunity to go abroad and study, it’ll enhance my career. It’s worth doing.” According to Peter Brooker of the Daytona Beach Rotary Club, Dunn is one of 10 area applicants who is traveling abroad this year to further studies in a humanitarian-related field. Booker calls them a “$16 million investment,” as they and other recipients will act as goodwill ambassadors for the 100-year-old international philanthropic organization. In Florida, a scholarship is being established to help Nigerian students attend a state college, plans Brooker said may take up to two years to finalize. Dunn, who will divide her time in Mexico between study and community service projects, personifies the type of person the organization seeks to spread the message of “creating power through peace.” A Medallion of Excellence winner, she graduated summa cum laude from Spruce Creek High School’s International Baccalaureate program in 1999. While in college, she tutored for Mujeres Avanzando por Nuevos Oportunidades and also helped found the college’s Hispanic Integration Program. Dunn, who won the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for her humanitarian work in 2003, said she learned of the program from friends who have studied in Latin America and South Africa. Applicants, who can earn up to $25,000 to cover expenses, must be able to speak the language of the requested country. They also cannot be related to a Rotarian. Applications are accepted each year through Jan. 30 and may be mailed to Rotary Club of Daytona Beach, P.O. Box 108, Daytona Beach, FL 32115. For more information, visit rotary.org. |
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