LIKE THE GRAPHICS?

To see them larger, click the words here to 1) learn about the Oslo summer scholarship opportunity for Georgia students - a program in place for several years to thank Georgia for GRSP; and 2) read about the experiences of this year's GRSP students in their first newsletter of the year - they have truly taken this newsletter to a new high!

STUDENT WEEKENDS

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the students enjoyed a wonderful weekend with the Savannah area Rotary Clubs, one of two weekends each hosted by District 6920. Again, a big thank you to District 6910 who continues to charter a bus for the long trip to Savannah. As the newsletter goes to press, the Alpharetta RC, Johns Creek RC, Milton-Windward RC, North Fulton RC, Roswell RC and Sandy Springs RC will have already hosted the final student weekend for this calendar year. Students will have arrived in Alpharetta on Friday night with Alpharetta RC hosting a pot luck dinner and bonfire. The students will have been picked up by the many weekend host families to spend the night with them. A big shout out to these families that open their homes and their hearts to these students for a weekend!!!! It is very much appreciated by the students and the rest of the hosting Rotary Clubs in all three districts.

Last year the students were treated to the Main Event, but this year they will be spending time at WhirlyBall Atlanta, where they will have team building, games and karaoke. The students will have gone to the Computer Museum of Atlanta. As if that isn’t enough, they will have also gone to Lucky’s Burgers and Brew for college football, tailgating and burgers and then to the Roswell Visitors Center for a service project and other activities. The day will end with a spooky walking tour of Roswell.

The next student weekend is the GRSP Leadership Weekend - scheduled for the Martin Luther King Holiday Weekend - January 17-19. Watch for information from the Rotary Club of Dunwoody this week.

THANKSGIVING

It is not too early to start talking with your student about holiday plans, particularly Thanksgiving. There is not another country in the world that celebrates Thanksgiving and this is the favorite holiday of nearly every student we have hosted. We think it evokes memories of their own families at significant holidays in their own countries. For those clubs that do not partner with other clubs, students seem to like to visit several families, rather than just staying with their main host family. Obviously, this depends on the student, but for those Rotarians who are not official host families, this could be a good way to find out a little more about the program by visiting with your student. For the Rotary Clubs who are partnering with other clubs, please be sure to work out details of the entire week with your other host families to be sure that everyone is included.

STRATEGIC PLANNING/PILOT PROGRAM

As reported earlier, the RC of Dunwoody chose to be the first club in a pilot club that was designed for the specific purpose of bringing more diversity of countries being involved with the Program and it appears that this program has worked very well for them. They are hosting a student from Ethiopia this year. It has been many years since we have seen a student from Ethiopia. The executive committee of GRSP has agreed to open the pilot program to a few other Rotary Clubs for the coming year.

The program works by allowing the Rotary Club to review the applications of students that have already been approved by the university. This process, however, cannot be started until as late as May or June, depending on the university. Due to FERPA, public universities may need to be handled a bit differently. If a club has a member working for the subject university or if the university is willing to notify the applicants that a Rotary scholarship may be available to them, perhaps prospects can apply directly to the Rotary Club. The Rotary Club must also be committed to spending a good deal more time in the selection process than in the past, so it is advised that a committee be formed to review the applications and make a selection. It is also recommended that the Rotary Club select a student from a country that has not previously been represented in the Georgia Rotary Student Program. The student must comply with all requirements of the program in order to be selected and will be considered a normal GRSP student.

If a club is interested in this program, please contact Lynn Clarke, the GRSP District Chair for 6900. The Club or combination of clubs can offer a scholarship that is at least $6,000.00. GRSP will provide an additional $6,000 from the endowment this year for that student, but cannot provide more than one scholarship per club. If you need further details about the pros and cons of the pilot program, please contact Jackie Cuthbert or Lorri Christopher with the RC of Dunwoody.

OSLO SCHOLARSHIP

Deadline is December 30 for this all-expense paid trip to Oslo, Norway next summer. Ask your trustee for details or check out our website at www.grsp.org. Please understand that Rotarian children and grandchildren can and do apply for this scholarship.

BARBARA M. AND DONALD L. THOMAS PEACE AWARD

The Roswell Rotary Club is proud to continue this award once again. Thanks to the continued generosity and support of the Thomas family, an award of $1500 will be presented to a deserving GRSP student who exhibits the spirit of the GRSP program and who is in need of additional financial assistance.The application form was sent to all Club Presidents in October. The completed application and accompanying letters must be returned no later than February 15, 2020. The award will be presented at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Roswell at a time convenient to all parties.

If you have any questions please contact Jacque Digieso, Roswell Rotary Club, 770-851-3435 (cell) or by email at digieso@bellsouth.net. Contact numbers are also listed at the bottom of the application form.

ENDOWMENT NEWS

We are very excited to once again be giving out checks to clubs in our district that donated at least $50 per capita to the GRSP Endowment. Calculations for those checks are in process. This District always receives the lion’s share of the award, since we are such supporters of the endowment. Please understand that this is not the $7 per member that each club gives to GRSP each year to keep the program running, but are the donations that Rotarians make to the GRSP Endowment. The GRSP Endowment is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and donations are considered tax deductible. Confirm that your treasurer sends in any donations you have made before the end of the year in order to get credit for your donation in the year in which it was made.

In further news the trustees of the GRSP this past summer voted unanimously to separate the operational part of GRSP and the GRSP Endowment because of increased liability due to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is Europe’s new framework for data protection laws. This decision will further protect the assets of the endowment.

SELECTION NEWS

Each fall, the executive committee of GRSP meets to review the anticipated earnings of the endowment and to discuss projections on tuition/room and board cost increases in Georgia for the following year. The goal of the committee is to give as much as possible out of the endowment in order to reduce the financial burden on sponsoring Rotary Clubs. We always have a representative for the Board of Regents in order to have current information. Latest intelligence is that club president elects will be receiving the Selection Book the middle of November; however, please be advised that we have fewer applications than ever before. No one is sure why, although it appears that it may be a combination of reduction in educational visas being issued from the United States, increased competition from other scholarship providers and concern from International Students regarding the United States.

Every club will want the “best” student, but it is impossible to know which student the “best” student is by looking at a two page document with a picture. We all do what we can with the limited information available and choose our top six. Clubs have different methods of working together to come up with a selection. When multiple clubs are selecting, the methods are as many as the partnerships that are selecting. The president elect will sign the Commitment Form committing his or her club to paying a certain amount for a student. These forms must be submitted prior to January 3 for final selection by their trustee on January 24. Many factors influence whether or not a club gets their first choice or a student that wasn’t selected by the club at all. A selected student may turn down the scholarship for another one that they applied for or may decide that the university the club wants to send them to is not their first choice. Fortunately for many clubs, they find that even if they didn’t get their first choice, the student that they receive exceeds all expectations.

Please remember that there is quite a lot of confidential information in the Selection Book. Do not let your student from this year look through the book or post the information for anyone to see.

STUDENT TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Please be advised that the schools and universities in Georgia require notification when a student plans to exit the United States to visit another country. Such travel requires approval from the university or college and notification must be given to the Home Office (Barbara Lariscy or Holly Baker). Any questions may be directed to the home office as well.

In addition, the GRSP Office will need to know 1) where the student plans to go, 2) the length of stay and 3) the name of the group that the student will be traveling with, whether it is a travel agency, sponsored trip or on their own. Students need to understand that returning to the United States through customs and immigration could present a problem, if proper notification has not been given to the college or university. Also, even if a student is traveling within the borders of the United States, it is always recommended that they keep their passport with them at all times for proper identification.