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Angela Rusk - Ambassadorial Scholar Report - May 10, 2006 My name is Angela Elaine Rusk and I am
an Ambassadorial Scholar for the 2005-2006 school year. I am currently completing my Master of Physiotherapy by
Coursework at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where I will receive a
Specialisation in Paediatric Physiotherapy.
There are approximately 35 full and part-time Masters Students within the
Physiotherapy Department at the University of Melbourne, with 5 of us completing
the Paediatric Stream. My courses
consist of a professional issues and development course, graduate research
methods, paediatric physiotherapy theory, and a clinical paediatric course.
I have been completing my clinical placements at the Royal Children’s
Hospital in Melbourne and at the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre in Glen
Waverley. I have been learning about new therapeutic techniques that
can be taught as a group to the patient and caregivers. I have also had the opportunity to interact with prominent
orthopaedic surgeons, while discussing patient caseloads.
However, not all of my coursework is lecture and practical related.
I also have several self-directed learning tasks that are to be completed
throughout the semester. I am fortunate to have a very supportive
sponsor counselor, Rotary club, and Rotary district who want to get
Ambassadorial Scholars involved in a variety of club functions, conferences, and
events sponsored by Rotary. To
prepare for my experience abroad, I attended the Outbound Scholar Conference in
Nashville, TN in December 2004. I
have been invited to attend all meetings of my sponsor club.
While in Indiana, my sponsor club also invited me to participate in the
community service projects such as raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims,
Apples for Teachers, and Christmas projects.
Not only have I attended my sponsoring club meetings, but one of my
sponsor Rotarians has also taken me to several surrounding Rotary Clubs.
This gave me the opportunity to observe how different clubs conduct their
meetings. As an outbound
Ambassadorial Scholar, I attended a few District wide meetings and seminars
including the District 6560 Rotary Foundations Seminar and the All-Indiana
Ambassadorial Scholar Conference. I
was also given the opportunity to speak to my sponsor club on two separate
occasions regarding the responsibilities of the scholar and their host and
sponsor club, and I also presented my Australian presentation. Upon arriving in Melbourne, Australia, I have been involved in Rotary by attending weekly meetings at the Carlton Rotary Club, on Tuesday at 1pm in the Graduate House, which is located on the University of Melbourne campus. I have attended the District 9800 Conference located in Geelong, Australia. Geelong is located approximately 1 hour East of Melbourne and is situated upon a beautiful coastal harbour area. The theme for the District 9800 Conference was “Embrace the Rhythm of Life”, where several presentations were given regarding Rotary’s active participation within its communities, the outreach programs Rotary is supporting, and the continuing development of promoting Rotary ideals and standards. While at the District Conference I joined 3 other current Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars to give an informational presentation to the attending Rotarians and non-Rotarians as to “What an Ambassadorial Scholar is”. While giving our presentation, we were joined by “Matilda”, a blow-up kangaroo, to help the scholars illustrate that not all stereotypes are correct, and that as scholars we want as many opportunities to learn about “what” and “who” Australia really is. But not only that, we also want to proudly represent and teach others about our home countries as well. We were also given the opportunities to introduce ourselves and tell the audience a brief background of where we had traveled from and what our goals were for the future. I was proud to state that I was from a small farming/industrial area in Indiana and that I was hoping to show Australian’s that the USA is a large country full of people from various cultures and from every walk of life. I think it is important to gain new perspectives about different countries/cultures. Not everyone in Australia or the USA is the same, and that’s what makes them great…. It’s the diversity!!! Attending the Rotary District Conference gave me the opportunity to bond with my host club members and to learn about Rotary District 9800. It also gave me a wonderful opportunity to network with Rotarians from around the Melbourne area, and I have been able to set up some Ambassadorial Scholar presentations as a result of attending the conference. I have just recently attended the inbound Australian Scholars seminar, where past, current and future scholars were able to meet and share their experiences. Having the past scholars give presentations and personal examples of how they were involved in the countries they visited was quite inspiring. I enjoyed hearing that even one person can make a difference in so many different lives. This was also another opportunity for scholars to meet new Rotarians from different neighbouring districts and create more contacts for future presentations. Living in Australia has been an amazing
adventure and experience so far. I
have found it to be a beautiful country. Although
I feel it is sometimes portrayed in films and people’s opinions as just a
brown countryside, it displays a wide range of colour schemes, unique animals,
and even tall buildings. To me,
Melbourne is a large city full of vibrant people who friendly, genuine, and are
willing to help out whenever asked. There
is a variety of cultures mixed together in Australia, where I frequently see
people of Middle East, European, and Asian descent.
Actually, I am currently living with another graduate student who is from
Hong Kong. We are each enjoying
each others company, and having a wonderful time sharing about our culture and
tasting different kinds of foods. I
will be joining my housemate on a trip to her home in Hong Kong in June 2006.
I have also asked for assistance from local Rotarians about possible
contact information for Rotary clubs and Rotarians in Hong Kong. I have also discovered that like my sponsoring Attica-Williamsport Club and District 6560, Melbourne Rotarians also enjoy socialization. I have also been invited to Rotarian’s homes to enjoy teas, BBQ’s, and lively discussions regarding my first impressions of Australia, what my hometown and the U.S. is like, and Australian and U.S. governmental policies. Many of the other opportunities I’ve had to share my culture and background have come from the local church community and my classmates/professors. My classmates are from a variety of places such as Jordan, Hong Kong, Japan, Norway, and all around Australia. We have spent many breaks during our classes talking about our background, and also about our workplaces and the patients we work with. It has been great to meet so many new people from all over the globe. The church I am involved in has a wide age-range from youth up to elders. I help lead a youth night at the church, where several students have come up to me, after hearing my accent when I speak, and ask me about where I’m from. I enjoy hearing what they think life in the U.S. is like. Many of their impressions have come from all of the television series that are shown over here. That was something I didn’t expect when I came over. Several television shows and songs played in Australia are originally from the U.S. or have been created as spin-offs of an original U.S. television show. For example, they also have Australian Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Biggest Loser, and even Big Brother. I thought I knew that several other countries were influenced by “American culture”; however, it wasn’t until I came over to Australia that I realised how much of an influence our television shows and radio really had. It can be discouraging to think that people’s opinions of someone else’s country can come from fictional characters whom portray only a small portion of “reality”; however, I know that positive experiences between people from different cultures can foster new relationships and broaden the ever increasing goal of worldwide understanding. |