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Scholoarship Opportunities

Rotary District 7150 offers two scholarship opportunities.

Objective

Provide financial assistance to eligible Outbound students to participate in the Rotary District Youth Exchange program.

Rotary District 7150 offers two scholarship opportunities for Outgoing Students. The Clark T. and Ruth Case Scholarship and the District 7150 Outbound Scholarship. Both are described here along with the applications. Students may apply for either or both. Selection is based on financial need. Click below to learn more about each scholarship.

Dr. Clarke T. & Ruth Case Scholarship

History

  •  The Rotary District 7150 Youth Exchange Program was founded in 1969 by Dr. Clarke T. and Ruth Case and Syracuse Rotarians Ed and Emily Hollister. In 1971 the district sent and received its first two students.
  •  To date, more than 2000 students from our district have been exchanged with annual exchanges of 30-35 students.
  •  Clarke and Ruth served on the YE Committee for 16 years.
  •  In 1987 the District Committee and Utica Rotary established the Dr. Clarke T. and Ruth Case Scholarship fund to recognize their efforts and to honor them.
  •  The first scholarship was awarded in 1990. Over 80 scholarships have been awarded to date.
  •   The scholarships cover a portion of the costs and based on the student's financial need.

THE SCHOLARSHIP

  •  Applicants wishing to apply must complete the application as directed (click here to download). Recipients will be notified prior to departure.
  •  The scholarship fund is directed by a committee that includes a member of the Case family, the District Committee Chair and Outbound Chair, the District Governor, and a representative of the Utica Rotary Club. Linda Allen, a Past President of Utica Rotary and Past Chair of the District's Youth Exchange Committee serves as the fund's facilitator.
  •  The funds are administered by the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties as a donor advised scholarship fund. Donations are 501C(3) tax deductible.
  •  Recipients of the scholarship agree to complete their exchange year and upon their return to the US write a report summarizing their year abroad and its impact on their lives.
Individuals wishing to make donations should send their check or appreciated stock annotated to the "Dr. Clarke T. and Ruth Case Scholarship Fund" to:

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties Inc.
Attn: Case Scholarship Fund
2608 Genesee St
Utica, NY 13502

District 7150 Outbound Scholarship

The Rotary YE Committee has a small amount of monies available for deserving students based on financial need. The application should be submitted to the Outbound Chair when the student accepts their placement. Awards will be credited towards the last scheduled payment.

Click here for a District 7150 Outbound Scholarship Application. Contact Outbound Vice Chair Mindy Taylor for additional information.

Excerpts from former Scholarship recipient reports:

"I arrived in the Geneva Airport to seven people (both host moms, both host dads, a host brother, host counselor and host club president) each holding a sign spelling out my name. Once I saw that, I knew I wouldn't have to search for people I didn't know and felt very relaxed. It was the best welcome I could have ever asked for."

Stephen, Switzerland 2008-09

"I have a wonderful relationship with each of my US family members, and before going to Poland, I believed that I could never have that kind of relationship with anyone else. But being on exchange changed my perspective of what it means to call someone family."

Kate, Poland, 2008-09

"I moved to my second house on my 18th birthday. I was worried about it, but it turned out that the move was great. My mom was an extremely vivacious woman who was always full of life. She made me feel like her daughter. She would take me wherever she went and treated me like her shopping buddy. I think it might have been harder on her when I had to move than it was on me. My Dad was quiet, but I knew that he was always looking out for me. He was a worrier and didn't like it when I stayed out too late. My 16 year old brother loved talking about politics with me. He knew so much about how the US government worked and it was great to have debates with him on social issues."

Tess, Brazil, 2008-09

"On the one hand, Rotary helped me to prepare for what was to come, but at the same time one is never really prepared for the experience of being an exchange student. Throughout my year, I was provided with support and activities through my host Rotary Club and district. I also had three wonderful host families who were there for me and became my families. They took me throughout Sweden so; that I could see all that this great country has to offer and they spent hours helping me with my Swedish. By including me in their activities and treating me as part of the family, I felt much more accepted in this country. Because it's a full year, living with a host family and attending school, I eventually felt at home there and had a life of my own. I was no longer living in a strange town in a strange country, but living my life, just in Sweden: everything was normal. By my year's conclusion, I felt a wonderful sense of being a part of something, not just an observer, as I had been in the beginning. I had immersed myself in Swedish language and culture. I had done my best to represent myself and my country, while adjusting to a new life and a new me in this now familiar land. Feeling connected to Sweden in a way that I had never felt possible, I boarded a plane to begin my journey home, leaving behind the place that I now felt was my home."

Evie, Sweden 2008-09