Georgia Southern University Honors Student Selected for Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship

February 10, 2010

Georgia Southern University Honors Program senior Thomas Eisenhart has been awarded the Rotary Foundation Academic-Year Ambassadorial Scholarship to travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he will attend Queen’s University Belfast for the 2010-2011 school year. Eisenhart, a Statesboro native, plans to earn a master’s degree in chemistry during his year abroad.

The Ambassadorial Scholarship provides money for one year of study at an institution in another country. The Rotary Foundation chooses the destination institution to insure a broad distribution of its ambassadors across the countries where Rotary International has a presence. While in Belfast, Eisenhart will put his studies to use in a service project that informs citizens about easy ways to live sustainably while encouraging them to do so.

“While at Georgia Southern, I have had the opportunity to conduct research that is searching for ways to develop biofuels from renewable resources, a viable solution to the energy problem. As I go abroad I hope to gain a better understanding of the chemistry involved in developing new energy,” Eisenhart said.

After his year in Belfast, Eisenhart plans to continue his studies in pursuit of a Ph.D. with a continued focus on the environmental applications of chemistry. His ultimate goal is to discover viable solutions to the current energy problems facing our country and the world.

Eisenhart says his participation in the University Honors Program instilled in him a strong desire to learn and prepared him for the challenges of being a global citizen as a scholar studying abroad. “The program has challenged me to do great things, but I feel it has also equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to live up to these expectations,” he said.