Community Corner

From Scotland, With Education

An Ambassadorial scholar talks about her overseas experiences with members of the Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park breakfast Rotary club.

Think of Scotland, and one prevailing image probably comes to mind.

“Yes, they do wear kilts,” Sarah Perry assured members of the Rotary Club of Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park Tuesday morning.

Not on an everyday basis, mind you: “It's mostly saved for formal occasions and weddings. The pattern and the colors of their kilt are determined by their family clans.”

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Sarah shared her experiences of living and studying in Aberdeen, Scotland, for the 2010-11 academic year as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. The Morgantown, W.Va., native was selected as a scholarship recipient in a program that has been in existence since 1947 to promote friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas.

Since returning to the United States, she’s answered a lot of questions about kilts and also about the traditional Scottish delicacy haggis. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, haggis' main ingredient is sheep pluck, which includes several parts that don’t come immediately to mind when it comes to consuming food.

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“It’s actually not that bad,” she insisted. “You just can't think about what you're eating.”

More appealing was her description of attending a ceilidh (pronounced, believe it or not, KAY-lee).

“It’s basically a Scottish barn dance, where you have a partner and as the music gets faster, the dance moves also get faster.” She said to imagine a room full of about 300 Rotarians, eager to show their American visitor what a ceilidh is all about.

“They were very excited to teach me all of the Scottish dance moves. So I went around with all the different Rotarians, and they were slinging me around.”

Sarah can handle the exercise: During her stay, she ran a marathon for a cherished Rotary cause.

For nearly 30 years, Rotary International has been at the forefront of efforts to eradicate polio from the face of the earth. To help raise money toward vaccinations in the few countries where the disease still exists, she decided to raise pledge money by going the 26 miles.

“My goal was not that lofty,” she said. “It was about 1,300 pounds, which is the equivalent of about $3,000.”

Rotarians in Scotland’s District 1010 certainly rallied to support their guest. By the time she ran – the marathon actually was in Rotterdam, Holland – she’d raised enough money raised to pay for 31,000 polio vaccines.

“By the end of it all, after more money came in, it was a total of $13,000,” she said. “It was amazing to see how the Rotary really stands behind causes.”

Sarah, who also has studied in China, including Hong Kong, is a graduate of her hometown West Virginia University and earned her master’s at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. She works as communications and community-relations specialist in Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s Southpointe office.

She is a member of the McMurray Rotary Club in Peters Township.

“I see Rotary as making a huge investment in my life, so I wanted to get back and get involved with Rotary,” she said.

Her visit to Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park was one of many she has been doing, to say thanks to Rotarians for their philanthropic work and especially for the scholarship opportunities they provide.

“You really are making the best investment you can in a young person’s life,” she said. “They're going to turn around and use that money and their education for so much more.”


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