Joanne Daunt can hardly wait. She is slated to  leave Muncie in late August for Accra, Ghana, to begin an academic year of study under an Ambassadorial Scholarship sponsored by Rotary International.

Daunt, a Ball State undergraduate environmental management major from Eaton, IN, responded in 1999 to an announcement about the scholarship prepared by members of the two Muncie area Rotary Clubs.  Following interviews by local Rotarians, Daunt was selected from among candidates from five other universities in central Indiana.

In preparation for her year in Ghana, Daunt has attended Rotary Club meetings and a district conference. In addition, she has met with students from Ghana to become familiar with Ghanaian culture and the dominant language, Twi.  She will enroll at the University of Ghana, Legon, and has been assigned a local Rotarian who will serve as her mentor.

While in Ghana, Daunt intends to send reports back to Muncie Rotarians via a website she will devise to chronicle her Ambassadorial Scholar experience.

Ambassador Scholarships are valued at up to $26,000 per award, and are supported through gifts to the Rotary Foundation. Calls for scholarship applications occur annually in spring, seeking highly qualified advanced undergraduates and graduate students who are enrolled in central Indiana universities and/or who are legal residents of  this area. Application information  is available at
http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/rotarian/index.html