University of South Carolina senior Clare Steiner has been named a recipient of the Rotary Global Grant to pursue graduate studies abroad in 2022-2023. Global Grants fund graduate-level study around the world in one of seven areas of focus: peace and conflict resolution, economic and community development, water and sanitation, basic education and literacy, disease prevention and treatment, child and maternal health, and the environment.  Steiner is sponsored by the Columbia Rotary Club in Rotary District 7770 and will pursue a degree in international development studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

Steiner is from Nashville, TN and is a member of the South Carolina Honors College, with a political science major and minors in English and business administration.  She is the current president of Gamecocks Aiding Refugees in Columbia, a service and advocacy organization focused on strengthening dialogue between students and the local refugee population. While abroad, she will focus on learning how to incorporate vulnerable populations in the development process, and her experiences with the Columbia refugee population have helped guide her towards that path. 

Why it matters:

• The Rotary is the world's largest privately funded international scholarship program whose scholars further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas by encouraging person-to-person diplomacy.
• Rotary Global Grants are valued at $50,000, provide one year of graduate study abroad and encourage recipients to engage in community service work.
• Applicants must be sponsored by local Rotary clubs and the program facilitates strong connections between UofSC and the local community, as well as Rotarian communities around the world.
• UofSC students have won 92 Rotary scholarships since 1994, including 11 Rotary Global Grants since 2013.

“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to build a partnership with Rotary International and contribute to their mission of promoting peace and doing humanitarian service around the world,” says Steiner. “Above all, I am thankful to be able to pursue my educational goals in Thailand, my mother's home country, and create a humanitarian project contributing to Rotary's current peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts in the region.”

The Rotary Global Grant application process is facilitated at South Carolina by the university’s National Fellowships and Scholar Programs. Applicants are also supported and connected to local Rotary clubs by faculty and staff Rotarians, including Jim Morris, CEO of the SC Council on Economics, and Fred Myhrer.