Katherine Tanner of Fredericksburg Receives Rotary International Global Grant to Study in London

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Katherine Tanner

GEORGETOWN, TX (05/01/2013)(readMedia)-- Katherine Tanner of Fredericksburg has received a Global Grant from The Rotary Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Rotary International.

The Global Grant program, formerly known as the Ambassadorial Scholarship program, provides academic year scholarships for undergraduate, graduate and professional members to study abroad and support their commitment to "service above self" through sustainable international activities.

Tanner is a senior political science and international studies major at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She also is minoring in German.

Tanner will use the grant to spend a year in London, where she plans to earn a master's degree in geopolitics and security at Royal Holloway, which is part of the University of London.

Tanner was sponsored for the award by the Fredericksburg Noon Rotary Club, and was chosen from among applicants in a Rotary Club district that includes 44 counties in Central and South Texas.

As part of the grant program, Tanner will speak to several Rotary Clubs around Central Texas before she goes to London, including a Rotary Club in Georgetown. In April, she spoke at a district Rotary Club meeting that was held in San Angelo.

"I also hope to visit clubs throughout England, but I especially want to speak at schools to inspire younger minds to seek the world out and learn beyond their comfort zone," she said.

Tanner's international experience already includes a semester interning with the European Union in Germany, a semester studying at Kadir Has University in Turkey, and a yearlong exchange program in Austria.

"I was inspired to live and study abroad at a very early age by my mother, who was both a Rotary Exchange student and a Fulbright Scholar to Germany. She taught me to appreciate other cultures, seek understanding, ask questions and try new things. I am who I am today because of her," Tanner said.

Tanner is a 2008 graduate of Fredericksburg High School. She is the daughter of Karen Tanner and Steve Hardison of Fredericksburg and Louis Tanner of San Antonio. She was a member of Interact (Rotary International's service club for young people ages 14 to 18) in high school and Rotaract (a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30) her first two years at Southwestern.

Southwestern University is a selective, nationally recognized undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,400 students. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas. For more information on Southwestern, visit www.southwestern.edu.