Parting thoughts as scholars departs for Chile

Prior to departing for Chile, Lindsay Mumm spent 3 months as an intern with Sen. Smith in Washington DC. While there she continued to stay involved with Rotary....here are her comments and observations..

I attended about four meetings at the Capitol Hill Rotary club located a few blocks from where I was living in DC. They were very welcoming. I enjoyed the diversity of their speakers, especially an author who wrote about the importance of our national monuments and a businesswoman who spoke about the trainings she offered on gender awareness and diversity. The Capitol Hill Rotary club also invited me to attend an Rotary Foundation scholarship alumni event. There I met former Ambassadorial Scholars and World Peace fellows. I loved the opportunity to chat briefly with these alumni, their experiences abroad and what they are now doing professionally in the DC area.

Another highlight of my time in DC was becoming involved with a Rotaract club in the area. I attended three of their bi-weekly meetings and one holiday social event. The Rotaract club was very active and had both domestic and international service projects. One of their area service projects was delivering hot meals to homeless people in downtown DC. Donations came from the Salvation Army and churches and funds for a van were provided by Rotary clubs to distribute the food each evening. Twice a month the Rotaract club organized the volunteers.

The club also volunteered at Bingo family night at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and collected food for low-income elderly prior to the holidays. Their international project was collecting used limb replacements for Iraqi civilians injured in the war.

Being able to stay connected with Rotary prior to my scholar period abroad was absolutely wonderful. Each time I attended an event or meeting I was re-energized for my year abroad. I came away with more ideas for potential projects and a better understanding of all of the ways Rotary impacts local and international communities.