It is with a great deal of excitement and pride that we can announce Perth Rotary Member, Sagar Badve, has been successful in being selected for the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP), not once, but twice!
Promoting peace is one of Rotary’s main causes. The Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) is a unique program which aims to bring nations together. Since 1946, Rotarians in Georgia, USA Rotary, have promoted world peace through understanding by offering scholarships to international students for one year of study at a Georgian university.
Georgia Rotary Clubs sponsor students recommended by a Rotary Club in their home country. The students become adopted members of a Georgia “host family,” living on-campus at the school they attend, and spending time with their host family on weekends and during holiday periods. This is an ambassadorial scholarship program.
GRSP provides scholarships to promote international goodwill, advance cultural understanding and social experiences through friendship. The scholarship allows students to develop into potential global leaders and expand the ideals of Rotary around the world.
Sagar was first selected for this program early in 2020. Sagar was to attend the University of Georgia with the Rotary Club of Athens. However, owing to COVID-19, the funding for the club was ultimately pulled and as a result, Sagar was placed back into the talent pool to potentially be picked by another Rotary Club.
Rebecca Tolstoy AM indirectly reached out to the Rotary Club of Atlanta to enquire if Sagar’s application could be reviewed. Sagar was then interviewed by Australian Rotary representatives for the program. As a result of this interview, Sagar was then highly recommended to the Rotary Club of Atlanta and ultimately selected to join the program and attend Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta from August 2021. During Sagar’s time in Georgia, he will be working alongside the Rotary Club of Atlanta whilst gaining valuable insights into their community-based projects and attending meetings and events.
Sagar joined the Perth Rotary Club in November 2020. However, as a former graduate of the RYPEN program, RYLA program and Path of Hope Foundation volunteer, Sagar has shown he has been a passionate and active advocate of the Rotary ethos over many years well prior to his official induction to the club.
Sagar is currently studying a double degree of Law and Finance at Curtin University under the John Curtin Undergraduate Scholarship. The scholarship has allowed him to travel to Sweden. Once there he became immersed in the widely different cultural landscape. He has sought to broaden this global perspective through the GRSP.
Sagar has a strong record of leadership and community involvement, holding executive positions in the Curtin Legal Advocacy Club, Curtin Student Law Society, and Royal Commonwealth, Young Fellows Society. Sagar was awarded the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation Scholarship owing to his strong academic record and a fervent interest in global finance and politics. Sagar is currently employed as an Analyst for the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation, primarily focussed on research and analysis of issues pertinent to Australia and America’s financial future.
Sagar is an amazing ambassador not only for the Georgia Rotary Student Program but for Perth Rotary and Rotary International as he travels the globe, learning throughout his travels and representing the Perth Rotary Club. He seeks to play an active role in facilitating stronger relationships between American and Australian Rotary Clubs through his involvement in the GRSP.
We congratulate Sagar on this amazing opportunity and thank Rotarian Rebecca Tolstoy AM for her continued mentorship of the young men and women who become involved (in the first instance) with the Path of Hope Foundation and through this, Perth Rotary Club and Rotary International. Our young men and women just need an opportunity they can grab hold of, they will do the rest. We look forward to regular updates and seeing where this amazing opportunity takes him. Travel safe, learn lots and congratulations once again.
President Jill Dawson
Perth Rotary Club 2020/21