I am incredibly grateful for the support of the Rotary Global Grant, which has allowed me to pursue my master's in International Development at I.E.University in Madrid, Spain. This journey has been transformative, offering both academic growth and international exposure.
My cohort of fifty-five students represents twenty-five different nationalities, and this deeply intercultural setting has broadened my perspective and enhanced my ability to work in international settings.
While rigorous, my coursework has also been very rewarding! I am currently wrapping up my final projects and preparing for exams in a breadth of subjects, including development economics and human rights. My favorite project this semester was completed as a part of a course on results based management. Tasked with designing a development project in Nigeria, my team and I created a plan for a project establishing non-profit childcare centers, with the goal of spurring economic growth and female workforce inclusion. From creating budgets to accounting for scalability, this was an incredibly enriching project that taught us a lot about what goes into designing field work interventions.
Recently, we were assigned to Capstone projects, which are completed as a part of the degree. These projects are established as a part of an academic agreement between IE University and multiple different partner organizations. My team and I were assigned to a project for UN Tourism. Starting in January, we will begin working on a data and policy analysis project, evaluating how investment promotion agencies can use tourism as an economic development strategy, while also promoting sustainable, equitable growth.
I am profoundly grateful for the scholarship that has made this possible, and I want to thank Rotary for the continued support! This opportunity has really surpassed my (already high!) expectations, and I look forward to continuing this journey.