Grad awarded 2005 Rotary scholarship

By ELIZABETH SUGGS, reporter

Baylor graduate Corbett Parker is on his way to the Netherlands as an ambassador of goodwill.

Parker, who graduated from Baylor in 2003 with a bachelor's of business administration in economics and finance, was awarded the 2005 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship. This scholarship will fund his studies in international law at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

"The scholarships are designed to promote international understanding and goodwill," according to a Feb. 1 press release. "While abroad, the scholars speak to Rotary clubs and districts, school, civic organizations and other forum where they act as 'ambassadors of goodwill.'"

The service-oriented program provides funds up to $25,000, and will support Parker during his stay overseas, which will most likely last from August 2005 to the following June.

"My primary responsibility through the program will be to give speeches," Parker said. He said the underlying idea in the Rotary's scholarship is to interact with the cultures and have a better cultural understanding of the places you visit.

"Particularly in this time, it's a great opportunity and responsibility at the same time. I greatly look forward to getting to go over there," he said.

Courtesy photo Baylor graduate Corbett Parker spoke to the audience after receiving his award from the Galleria-area club.

Parker heard about the program through his cousin, Heidy McHorter, a '93 Baylor graduate, who also received the scholarship and completed her study in Australia. He hopes to follow her example by spreading the word about the Rotary scholarship to other Baylor students.

"Baylor kids are so qualified for this. ... it just doesn't get the same publicity as other programs," Parker said. "Everyone knows about Fulbright and the Oxford scholarship, but this is the exact same amount of money, and there's great contacts."

The scholarship provides students with the chance to study in any of the 160 different countries where Rotary clubs are located.

"They're overjoyed to help you out, because they were helped out," Parker said. "That's where the strength of the program lies."

Parker won his scholarship through his hometown in Houston. However, Baylor students may choose to apply through either their hometown or the Rotary Club of Waco.

If students choose to apply through their hometown, Elizabeth Vardaman, an associate director in the Honors College, recommends that they contact the area's Rotary by next week, at the latest. Deadlines are fast approaching, and in some cities, they have already passed.

As for the Rotary Club of Waco, the deadline is at 4 p.m. on March 30.

Students who have yet to pick up applications shouldn't be discouraged. However, the scholarship is most ideal for students with junior hours, as the applicants must complete their undergraduate studies within a year of receiving the scholarship. Vardaman said students who are seriously interested in the scholarship may pick up an application in the student lounge of the Honors College, in room 203 of Morrison Hall.

"It's fair to say that I am a real fan of the Rotary foundation and the opportunity it provides," Vardaman said. "We have had lots of Baylor students who owe the rotary a great debt in their experience studying abroad. It is almost always a life-changing experience."

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