Introduction

Welcome to the pure, unadulterated webloggings of Elaine Joy, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar assigned to L’Derry, Northern Ireland, chronicling my transition to life, marriage and academia overseas.

Those of you who know me well, or have even stalked me on Facebook a little, probably realize by now that I travel. A lot. It kind of comes with the territory of being an International Studies major, but I took things to the extreme when I decided to not only do comparative study of youth violence in South Africa and Northern Ireland for my undergraduate Honors Thesis, but to travel there on my own and conduct both independent research and volunteer work. If you followed any of my previous blogs, then you know that this involved tracking down and interviewing a variety of fabulous individuals over the course of more than two years, including gang members and children of IRA volunteers. And, again, if you know me at all, you know that I wouldn’t have signed up for any of this unless I could somehow ‘scholarship’ my way there - As in, see the world for free. 

So, during my junior year at OSU, after returning from South Africa and in the middle of a semester abroad in Northern Ireland, I decided to apply for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship so that I could return to Northern Ireland and get my MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ulster in Derry. Inevitably, when I mention that I will be majoring in Peace Studies to anyone in the United States, questions like ‘What can you do with that degree?’ or ‘Is that an accredited program?’ immediately follow. There seems to be an attitude from some that I must just be taking a year off abroad, perhaps ‘sowing my wild oats’ until I figure out my life. 

I would like to take this opportunity to assure everyone that this program is not only accredited, but is one of the best in the world in this field. The professors at this university literally wrote the book on the impact of violence in Northern Ireland on young people and on truth and reconciliation after violence in Northern Ireland and South Africa. Basically, this is the perfect place for me to be, and it’s somewhere I have wanted to study for a very, very long time. I am truly just honored that they would even want to accept me, and honestly believe that there is nothing more worthwhile I could be doing with my life at this moment.

Receiving the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship has been the vehicle that made this dream a reality for me. It is a flat grant of 26,000 USD which is given to me, the scholar, to budget for my tuition and living expenses for a nine month period of study abroad. It is awarded at the district level, typically to one outstanding scholar per Rotary District. Receiving the scholarship is a series of Kafkaesque steps ranging from interviews with local rotary clubs, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and interviews at the District level, all culminating with a phone call, a gospel chorus ‘Yes’ or a soul-crushing ‘No.’ My first phone call was the soul-crushing variety. I was the alternate. Until my district pooled for more funding so that they could offer me a second scholarship.

In exchange, I’m required to deliver one presentation to my sponsoring Rotary Club, the Gallipolis Rotary Club, before I depart, ten to fifteen presentations to clubs in Northern Ireland while I am over here, and one presentation to the Gallipolis Rotary Club when I return. In addition, I will complete a community service project in Northern Ireland involving local Rotarians, attend Rotary orientation in the United States and in Ireland, attend local Rotary Club meetings, keep a blog of my travels, communicate with my sponsoring club in the States, and report my progress to the Rotary Foundation, all while taking classes towards receiving my MA in Peace and Conflict Studies. Piece of cake.

Oh - and did I mention that I got engaged? My then-boyfriend, Ben Joy and I took a leap of faith and decided to plan a wedding, get married, and plan a move to another country  - all over a short, 28-day period. So, as you may have gathered from the beginning of this introduction, the wedding somehow came together in the midst of all of this, and I am now Mrs. Elaine Joy, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.