Mallory Wright presents President-Elect Mike Herron with a banner from Grangemouth, Scotland. [Grangemouth is the home club of RI President John Kenny.]

"My heart's in the Highlands . . ."

From Charleston's Capital High School in 2004, Mallory Wright graduated from the United States Naval Academy four years later, and spent last year studying international and European politics at the University of Edinburgh as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

During her year of intense academic study, Wright met an international group of fellow students -- from the Canadian Rockies to South Africa and Asia.

As for future plans, Wright will be stationed at Pensacola, Florida, in flight training as a Navy pilot.

Edinburgh is known for its scholarship and academic rigor, but when asked to compare with Annapolis, Wright said the programs were entirely different. The Academy places high emphasis on math and science, she said. Her studies in Scotland centered on international politics. The greatest benefit from her year abroad came through personal contacts with people from other backgrounds and cultures.

Ambassadorial scholarships for an academic year provide a flat grant of $25,000. Wright said that the total amount went toward her studies at Edinburgh. She footed the bill for travel and visits to places of special interest in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Applicants must have completed two years of college or two years of vocational work beyond high school.

Also visiting with Putnam Rotarians today was Paula Kaufman, who will be an Ambassadorial Scholar to the Netherlands in 2010-11.

The scholarships for Kaufman and Wright are funded through RI District 7550, which includes about 28 Rotary clubs in the southern part of the state.

Scholars are expected to benefit through association with Rotarians and local clubs, but they may not be Rotary members themselves or from a Rotary family.

Wright presented the Putnam club with a banner from the Scottish club of Grangemouth -- which, by the way, is the home club of John Kenny, the current president of Rotary International.

Other guests today included Diana Long and Clark Egnor, both serving as members of the scholarship selection committee of District 7550.

Pictured with Mallory Wright during her visit with Putnam Rotarians are (l to r) Zach Donathan (Marshall senior), Diana Long (Charleston Rotary), Wright, Paula Kaufman (Ambassadorial Scholar 2010-11), Clark Egnor (Huntington Rotary), and Barrie Kaufman (Paula's mom).