Global Scholar Lauren West to speak at our July 24 meeting
Speaker Wednesday July 24
Rotary Global Scholar Lauren West
Lauren returned last week form her academic year abroad.
Before applying for her Rotary Scholarship she served as Senior Program and Operations Manager of PAIR in Houston, a local nonprofit that empowers refugee youth in middle and high school through educational mentoring programs. She oversaw program staff that support PAIR’s middle school programs, volunteer management and community engagement.
Lauren first began working with refugees as an intern for American Near East Refugee Aid in Lebanon and also worked as an intern and then employee in resettlement employment and outreach for Refugee Services of Texas in Austin.
While living in France and for a time after she moved to Houston she also worked pro-bono for Campfire a social enterprise that teaches entrepreneurial skills to refugees in camps.
Before beginning her year abroad Lauren graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations, a minor in Middle Eastern Studies and certificates in social entrepreneurship and nonprofits and business foundations.
Lauren’s $30,000 Rotary Scholarship was awarded to study for a Master of Arts in Development Studies, Track Migration and Diversity (MIG) at International Institute of Social Studies- Erasmus University, The Hague, Netherlands.