Most Exciting Post?

I've done my best to keep my excitement under control, but I fear I can't any longer! Back in February I applied for the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship. "The George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship honors the Northern Ireland peace accord brokered by Senator Mitchell between the governments and peoples of Ireland and the United Kingdom." It is a highly competitive scholarship and is open to all students in the University of Maine system. The award allows students to attend Cork Institute of Technology or the University College Cork of the National University of Ireland. Typically, 2 students are chosen for this award and attend the school of their choice for a semester each.

Anyways, I decided to complete the extensive application and apply for the award. I didn't have any expectations and I knew my chances were going to be slim, for I assumed many highly qualified applicants would also be vying for the award. In early March I received a call that informed me my application had been reviewed and that I had made it into the final round of candidates. I was scheduled for an interview with the selection committee at the University of Maine System Offices in Bangor. The day of my interview was a Thursday and Mom and Dad took time out of their busy schedules, and drove to Farmington to be part of the excitement! They picked me up, and we drove for another 1 and a half hours until we reached Bangor. There I had my interview, and was told I would hear the results by April 10th.

Fast forward twenty-four hours to Friday. I had class, and then completed a photo session for my practicum movie. After that I called Mom and Dad, told them about my day, and then promised to call the next day. Nothing too eventful. Then, on a whim, I decided to check my voice mail (All R.A.s have voice mail on our phones for inter-campus business.). To my great surprise, I had a message! It was from the scholarship committee, informing me that I had been selected as a recipient and would be going to Ireland in the fall! Upon hearing this, I squealed like a little girl and dropped my phone! Then, I called Mom and Dad.

I'm going to IRELAND! I will be an international student at University College Cork for the Fall 2007 semester! It's still sinking in, but it is SO exciting!