March 8, 2002 UNT Inhouse publication: UNT students named Rotary Scholarship winners

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UNT students named Rotary Scholarship winners

Six UNT students have received Rotary Scholarships for study abroad during the 2002-03 academic year.

Rotary Scholarships are provided by each of the 521 districts of Rotary International, an organization for business and professional men and women that focuses on providing humanitarian service, encouraging high ethical standards in all vocations and building goodwill and peace worldwide. A Rotary district consists of about 45 Rotary clubs.

Jacqueline Keggins, senior sociology major; Michael Atkins, a master's student in French; Patricia Lozoya, a master's student in counseling and student services; and Rosie Hatch, senior English major, each competed successfully for $25,000 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships for full academic years of study abroad at a foreign university.

Tamaki Yanagita, an international student from Japan who recently received her bachelor's degree in engineering technology at UNT, also received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to continue studying at a U.S. university.

In addition, Lynsay Houchen, senior speech-language pathology/audiology major, received a $12,500 Rotary Cultural Scholarship to live with a host family in Spain for three months.

"I join my colleagues in celebrating the accomplishments of these Rotary Scholars," says James Duban, director of UNT's Office of Postgraduate Fellowships and chair of UNT's Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Mentoring Committee. "Rotary has recognized the academic excellence of these students, their splendid character and the likelihood that each will help to make the world a better place."

James Duban, director of UNT's Office of Postgraduate Fellowships and chair of UNT's Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Mentoring Committee, and other committee members helped the students prepare for the scholarship's interview process. Committee members include Les Brothers, professor of music; Ishmael Bustinza, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures; Mary Beth Butler, director of the Study Abroad Center; Gloria Cox, director of the UNT Honors Program; Arthur Gionet, Professor Emeritus of foreign languages and literatures; David Keitges, associate director of international studies and programs; Judy Morris, Ronald E. McNair Program coordinator; and Jerry Nash, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Keggins, of Dallas, will study at the University of Toronto. She plans to earn her master's degree in sociology and education and conduct research on race relations.

"Toronto is an excellent place to study race relations. The population includes not only European Canadians – British and French Canadians – but also people from West Africa, Asia and South America. There's a lot of intermingling between the ethnic groups," says Keggins, who plans to become a social psychologist and research and teach at a university.

Atkins, of Oklahoma City, will study at the Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva, Switzerland, adding to his knowledge of international history, politics and law to prepare for a career with the U.S. Department of State. He previously spent five months studying at the University of Tours in France in 2000.

"Studying in Geneva would provide me with access to other important European centers. Great cities like Paris, Brussels and Strasbourg are fairly accessible. Also, burgeoning democracies in former communist countries would provide me with superb travel experiences and chances to see youthful democracies in action," he says.

Lozoya, a Fort Worth resident and a Spanish teacher at Trimble Tech High, selected the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima as her first-choice university. She hopes to add to her knowledge of Spanish language, culture, history and literature. A native of Tamaulipas, Mexico, Lozoya immigrated to the United States with her family in 1990. She previously studied abroad in London and in Valencia, Spain. world in your hands

"The value of spending a year in Peru, hearing lectures in Spanish from a non-American point of view and meeting and studying with Peruvian Spanish- and Quechua-speaking students would be immeasurable," she says. "I do not believe that people can truly understand a language without being immersed in the culture from which it is grown. Peru will give me the deeper understanding needed to transmit the richness of its people, culture, history, cuisine, music and art to my future students."

Hatch, of Ingleside, will study at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She plans to earn an advanced certificate in literary linguistics, which applies literary linguistics to literature and the media, from the university.

"Understanding works from another culture is historically difficult. What I learn at Strathclyde will carry over into my life and I will be sure to share it," she says. "There are other things I could do with a degree in English, such as teach or write, but to me, publishing can be an instrument to learn about society. Literature is an exciting and interesting way to understand what people think about current events."

Yanagita, of Ashikaga, Japan, plans to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She wants to begin a master's degree in aerospace engineering.

"My studies in the U.S. have greatly helped me develop a global perspective about ideas and people," she says. "I am intrigued and fascinated by other people's opinions and customs. I am convinced that communication among nations is important for space development programs, for those stand to further unite mankind."

Houchen, of Marshall, will live with a family in Grenada, Spain, and attend a language institute to add to her knowledge of Spanish language and culture. She is minoring in Spanish at UNT.

"I have made it my professional goal to become a bilingual speech-language pathologist. Developing greater proficiency would prove to be an enormous asset because I would be able to better serve the clients in Texas, including a growing Hispanic population," she says.