Scholarship Recipient 

Lisa Choe: Buckeye Valley High School

Project: Period Poverty

Scholarship Recipient 

Madison Lowe: Buckeye Valley High School

Project: Reducing Single Use Plastic in Local Business

The end of the Global Scholars Diploma 2019/2020 year was a memorable one. While the global pandemic forced schools to shut down in March, and the final GSD events of the year were forced to cancel, our Year 3 Global Scholars students continued to make a difference in their local communities.

The Columbus Council on World Affairs graduated 204 Global Scholars students last spring. The capstone Take Action projects of these students were not hampered by the pandemic and the scope and creativity of these projects are an inspiration during these difficult and unprecedented times. Alona Roebuck, Global Impact Stem Academy, created a cookbook that featured affordable and culturally diverse recipes to share with vulnerable communities. Jacob Hall, Worthington City Schools, created a video game designed to shed light on depression and its varied forms. Washington Cole, Columbus City Schools, created a financial literacy course for low-income families with international backgrounds. These are just a few examples of the impressive impact students have made in their communities over the past year. Two of these students were chosen to receive a $500 Global Scholars Scholarship based on their Take Action projects. The chosen recipients demonstrated ingenuity and a deep understanding of the widespread impacts of their chosen global issues. Madison Lowe, Buckeye Valley High School, championed environmentalism and worked with 10 local businesses to reduce their single-use plastics. Fellow Buckeye Valley High School student, Lisa Choe, addressed access to menstruation and sanitation products for women and girls and implemented a district-wide policy for access to free period products. We are incredibly proud of all these students and their accomplishments addressing global issues.

This fall, despite the continued impacts of Covid-19, the Columbus Council on World Affairs is excited to continue to serve Central Ohio students and will be delivering a virtual Global Scholars program to 1000+ students across 20 Central Ohio School districts.

Lisa Choe                                                                  Madison Lowe