This past and final semester at the University
of Queensland has been incredibly busy and rewarding. In April, our class of
Peace Fellows visited Canberra, Australia’s capital. The trip was arranged
through Rotarians in Canberra, and we got a first-hand perspective on just how
the Australian government, political system, and civil society agencies operate.
In May, our class hosted the annual Rotary Peace
Fellows’ Seminar, titled “PeaceTalks: Peace in Practice” as a culmination of
our year and a half at UQ. I talked about my journey as a Peace Fellow, my
applied field experience with Roots of Peace Vietnam, and my desire to promote
peace through sustainable food systems, equitable trade, and small-scale farmer
development. A video of my presentation can be found HERE!
Finally--drum roll please--I graduated with my
Master’s of International Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolution in mid-July!
Thank you to everyone for your support over the past year and a half—I couldn’t
have done it without you!
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| Oh happy day! |
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| I didn't want to pay $30 for the print...so this screen shot will have to do. |
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| Yes--it's real! A real degree! |
You are probably asking what I am doing next
with my life. After
graduating, I realized there are so many people, organizations, and projects
here in Southeast Asia that I want to explore--especially those related to small-scale
farmers, trade, and development, as well as international higher education. So
I will be “travelearning” for the next 3 months.
I am currently in Bangkok, Thailand with my
sister, Katrina Lewis, Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture &
Product Design at KSU. She is completing a Professional Certificate in Peace
and Conflict Resolution as a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University.
We like to joke that peace must run in the Lewis family…many thanks to District
5710 and the Manhattan Rotary Club for helping us to make peace a family affair.
I will be in
Bangkok until the end of August, and I then plan to travel to Burma, Lao, and
northern Thailand through September and early October. I will then head to East
Timor to learn more about the work going on there with small-scale coffee
farmer cooperatives and organic coffee production. I am planning a blog to
document the adventure and will share the address as soon as it’s live!
