Cassandra Varanka plans to speak at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, via Zoom to the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club.

Varanka is a Rotary District 7780 Peace Scholar candidate and one of 50 winners of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Scholarship chosen by Rotary International in 2021. The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club sponsored her.

She will talk about her past year preparing for her studies starting at the University of Queensland (Australia) Rotary Centre for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution, and discuss what she hopes to accomplish during her 18 months abroad, according to a news release from Carol Madsen with the Rotary.

Varanka heard about this prestigious award from her uncle George Szok, a long-time member of the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club. She thought the fellowship could be an extraordinary opportunity to advance her knowledge and practical skill in conflict resolution. And after her presentation at a Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary meeting in April 2021, it was clear to all that she was unquestionably an excellent candidate for this global fellowship, according to the news release.

She was then interviewed by members of the Rotary District Peace Fellowship Subcommittee, and ultimately endorsed as the sole candidate from District 7780 that comprises 41 clubs from Rumford, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The fellowship, worth more than $75,000, will fully fund tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and applied field study expenses.

Each year the Rotary Peace Fellows begin an 18-month program of study. Fellows are selected from countries and cultures around the globe, based on their prior experience in peacebuilding and their potential for future leadership roles in conflict resolution. In Varanka’s case she has had extensive policy experience in nuclear disarmament as a congressional aide, and in leadership positions at Foreign Policy for America and Women’s Actions for New Directions. Her goal is to use newly acquired skills to forward the use of diplomatic rather than military solutions for conflict resolution.

To obtain the Zoom link for this presentation, contact gszoksbox@gmail.com.

For more information, visit lakeregionrotary.com or the Rotary’s Facebook page or email President Aaron Hagan at lakeregionrotary@gmail.com.

 

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