District 5970 Global Scholar, Katie Wilford, will start up classes this Tuesday for her final semester at the University of Melbourne to complete Master of Education degree. Between semesters, she has been traveling the country.
Teresa, Katie’s mother, arrived in the middle of November. The duo explored the north island of New Zealand before returning to Melbourne to meet the arrival of Katie’s father and youngest sister. As a family (minus two other siblings back in Iowa), they went sightseeing in Sydney and then scuba diving on a three-day liveaboard cruise at the Great Barrier Reef up in Cairns.
Back in Melbourne, they cruised down the Great Ocean Road and explored the Yarra Valley and Macedon regions. Christmas Day was spent on the beach, Aussie style! Just a week later, Katie and her mother waited 18 hours for the world-famous Sydney fireworks on Mrs Macquarie’s Point. For a 12-minute show, it was worth it, but she will NEVER do it again.
New Year’s Day was spent on the beach, with a bottle of champagne for surviving NYE. Katie and her mother explored Ballarat, Phillip Island, Dandenongs, and unique suburbs of Melbourne. Katie’s adventures do not end there. She went on a 14-day road trip throughout Victoria and South Australia. She enjoyed being the only beach goer on a stretch of Ninety Mile Beach and going on bushwalks and extensive bike rides around Bright. Katie arrived in Adelaide (on the hottest day in history it was terrible…) to see her childhood icon, Phil Collins, in concert. Australia Day was spent on Glenelg Beach in Adelaide. (Notice the pattern?)
A day or two after returning from her 14-day road trip, she was off again to Tasmania for more exploration. At the height of the fire season and experiencing the haze of smoke looming over Hobart, she travelled east to the Tasman Peninsula for bushwalking and beach- going. She enjoyed the challenge of the Cape Hauy bushwalk and watching the crazy climbers on the Totem Pole. Katie’s favourite bay was Honeymoon Bay.
Still not done…after Tassie, she flew to Canberra and was a typical tourist for a couple days. The highlight was the Australian War Memorial, which she visited THREE TIMES. She made her way down to Merimbula/Eden before heading up the coast to Batemans Bay and then cutting across to Wagga Wagga to see a friend.
Katie returned to Melbourne and attended the Peace Summit and Multi-District Conference, making dozens of worthwhile connections, meeting heaps of amazing people, and enjoying good company with friends and acquaintances. In the Conference session Sunday morning, she had the pleasure to present her story and unveil her future dream to the audience.
Someday, Katie would like to create an organisation that teaches, helps, and feeds families within a refugee camp. Her inspiration came from a workshop facilitated by Foundation House where she saw a video about a school in a refugee camp, sparking her interest to “make a difference.” Katie is aware of the work and undertaking of this massive dream, but she says that Rotary chose her to be the inspiration and to make a difference in the world so it’s time for her to make her impact.
Her education at the #1 university in Australia will be an asset toward her future, an investment made possible by District 5970 and Rotary International; an investment in which she is eternally grateful. Katie will depart Australia sometime in July, hopefully in time to ride on RAGBRAI, a famous 7-day annual bike festival across the state of Iowa. Her future is yet to be determined; however, she is optimistic that the connections she made from the Multi-District Conference will give her an opportunity to expand her knowledge and skills to further benefit future generations.
When Katie is not in class or working on assessments, she can be found attending and presenting at countless Rotary club meetings across the Melbourne area, supporting District’s RYPEN, volunteering at DIK and Missionaries of Charity (feeding homeless men), and tutoring at Epping Secondary.
Special message from Katie: I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the Rotary Club of Melbourne for allowing me to attend the Peace Summit and Multi-District Conference. Your sponsorship gave me the opportunity to make amazing connections with the people to whom I look up to the most in life: Rotarians!
