Class VI (2008-2009)

Sponsor Club: Attica-Williamsport, Indiana, District 6560, USA 

Host Club: Ashgrove - The Gap

Emily Todd is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana where she is sponsored 

by the Rotary Club of Attica-Williamsport. During her time in Queensland, she has been fortunate to receive the support of her host counsellor, Fran Hamwood, and the Rotary Club of Ashgrove-The Gap. 

Emily received her undergraduate degree from The College of Wooster, where she majored in International Relations and Spanish. Prior to her arrival in Brisbane, she worked for two and a half years as a community educator with Proyecto Generando Vida, a grassroots NGO in Managua, Nicaragua. She also has experience working with immigrant advocacy groups, refugee resettlement and support programmes and the Peace and Social Justice Institute of Catholic Charities. 

Emily completed her Applied Field Experience with IOM (International Organisation for Migration) in Accra, Ghana. While in Ghana she worked with a number of programmes, including the counter child-trafficking programme, the labour migration policy development programme, and the assisted voluntary return and reintegration programme for stranded and vulnerable migrants. The internship with IOM provided Emily with a renewed passion for working within the field of international migration, a field that she hopes to return to upon completion of the fellowship. 

She is deeply grateful for all the support that she has received from Rotary, both in Queensland and in Indiana, as well as the faculty and staff of The University of Queensland. Additionally, she gives thanks for friendship and for the opportunity to share this amazing experience with her inspirational colleagues, the fellows of Class V, VI, and VII.