By Ashlyn Anderson, Rotaract Club of London
My story with Rotary began when I was a girl. One of my earliest memories is of a Rotary Youth Exchange student from Mexico teaching me the Spanish phrase “te quiero mucho” (I love you). I was eight years old in Franklin, Tennessee, USA. Gaby, who stayed with us for two years, was more than my first taste of Rotary Youth Exchange; she was my older sister and remains a part of our family, having planted seeds for me to continue learning Spanish and deepening my understanding of people and places.
Her exchange fueled my passion to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student. In 2017, I was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Cool Springs Noon, Franklin, Tennessee, to live in Perth, Australia, on a short-term exchange. The experience of leaving home and living with a host family taught me a lot about myself – including my unexpected appreciation of Vegemite and love of the word ‘mate.’ Though halfway across the world, I found the farming culture of Western Australia and their meat pie expertise to be much more similar than different from my background in middle Tennessee.
District 6760 RYLA
Though I continued to stay in touch with my Aussie family, it wasn’t until I was selected to attend the District 6760 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) that I found mi gente (my people): internationally oriented, like-minded servant leaders who challenged me to clarify my goals and pursue them wholeheartedly. It was during RYLA in 2016 that several transformative things happened: I met some of my closest friends across Tennessee whom I consider family, I was invited back the following year to be a RYLA counselor, and perhaps most importantly: I was introduced to the idea of pursuing a global grant scholarship. I served as a RYLA staff member for the next several years, each time feeling more fulfilled by the prospect of empowering the next generation of future servant leaders in Tennessee to think locally and act globally.
After I graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2022 with an interdisciplinary, self-designed major in Food Security and Public Health Nutrition, I reconnected with Gaby. I talked to her about her pride and unshakeable devotion to her country of Mexico. That inspired me to seek a Fulbright grant to be an English Teaching Assistant in Mexico. This opportunity, sponsored by the Commission of Mexico and the US (COMEXUS), allowed me to build deep connections with my host community in Puebla, just two hours south of Mexico City. Through painting a mural to commemorate my institution’s 60th anniversary, traveling across Mexico’s diverse, picturesque landscape, and navigating a new cultural and linguistic context, I leaned on the lessons I had learned as a Rotary Youth Exchange student.
My passion for public health guided my search for graduate school programs emphasizing nutrition and food systems. I received a global grant scholarship to study at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where my studies align with Rotary’s disease prevention and treatment area of focus.
Global grant scholar
As one of the world’s top schools for public health, LSHTM trains public health professionals to develop a comprehensive knowledge base and a toolkit of practical skills to build a successful public and global health career. Through the master of Science in Nutrition for Global Health, I will be equipped to address the current paradoxical crisis of undernutrition and pervasiveness of obesity while mitigating inadequate access to nourishing food and health services.
Nutrition-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer account for the leading causes of death globally. I plan to leverage my studies in public health and nutrition to implement equitable nutrition policy and food-environment interventions to support health. I believe enhancing my understanding of global public health through the lens of food and social policy will make me a more informed and globally oriented public health nutrition advocate. My studies will enhance public health and education with measurable outcomes to promote the long-term well-being of communities on the local and global scale.
My story with Rotary is far from over. I share it in the hope that others will take advantage of the abundant opportunities Rotary offers to connect deeply with the world around us. Whether through educational scholarships, exchange programs, leadership training, or creating a worldwide network of friends, Rotary has something to offer you. ¡Buena suerte! Good luck!
Discover ways to celebrate Rotary Youth Service Month
https://blog.rotary.org/2024/05/28/finding-my-people-through-rotary-youth-leadership-awards/