I would like to extend my deepest gratitude and thanks to the Staples Rotary Club and Rotary District 5580 for selecting and sponsoring me as a 2009-2010 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Starting in June 2010, I will spend three months in Morocco studying French as a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar.

The Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship program was founded in 1947 and is the Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program. The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarship program is to further good will and understanding among people of different countries and geographical areas. There are several types of scholarships that are offered, including the Academic Year Ambassadorial Scholarship, which provides funding toward one year of academic study abroad, and the Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship, which helps finance three or six months of intensive language study and cultural immersion in another country.

These scholarships are made possible by generous contributions from Rotarians worldwide who continue to believe that today's Ambassadorial Scholars will be tomorrow's community and world leaders.

Thank you to the Staples Rotary and to all of the Rotarians who have made this scholarship possible through their generous contributions. This will be the opportunity of a lifetime, and I look forward to representing Rotary and the Staples community in Morocco next year.
Britta Binek
Verndale, Minn.