Sarah Fischer, The Rotary Club of Austin's 2018-19 Global Grant Scholar, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a BA in International Relations and a BJ in Journalism, both with High Honors. She will pursue a Master's of Science in Developmental Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where her Rotary Area of Focus will be Economic and Community Development.
Her program will examine the “process involved in overcoming poverty and creating healthy, wealthy and sustainable societies.” She will be provided the opportunity to investigate the intersection of economic development, gender, and social innovation, and how to overcome the feminization of poverty across the Global South, with the regional interest in French speaking Africa.
Perspective courses include Gender, Labour Markets and Social Change, Human Security, the Informal Economy and Development, Population, Health and Development.
A required independent research component will equip her with the best practices in research design to facilitate the undertaking of a 10,000 word dissertation. She hopes to spend 8-10 weeks conducting field work and research in communities where microfinance and entrepreneurial programs have been established to combat poverty and empower women as income earners.
Sarah is an intermediate speaker of French, who has lived or studied abroad in France, India, South Korea, and Germany. As an undergraduate at the University of Texas, she was a recipient of her local Rotary Club's Service Above Self Scholarship. She has participated in multiple volunteerism activities, including being the creator of the Liberal Arts Refugee Alliance, a student network that serves the refugee community of Austin. As the Customer Service Manager for a private company, she has further broadened her experiential background.
The Rotary Club of Austin is pleased to have Sarah Fischer as the 2018-19 Global Grant Scholar.