Dear Rotary Friends,
I want to express my deepest thanks for the extraordinary gift the Rotary Global Grant has been in my life. This scholarship has done far more than support my education—it has shaped my vocation, opened doors I never imagined, and surrounded me with a community I will always cherish.
My dream is to serve as a palliative care physician and academic theologian—someone who walks with those who suffer, and who brings medicine and faith into dialogue for the sake of better care. I completed my MD at Michigan State University and, with your help, was able to pursue a PhD in Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. Thank you for helping to make this dream possible.
As a Rotary Global Grant Scholar, my humanitarian service project involved founding and leading the Oxford Rotary Trauma Healing Project—a program designed to support individuals coping with grief and loss. Over three years, I facilitated trauma healing groups within a local faith community whose members were predominantly immigrants and refugees. The program combined evidence-based psychological approaches to trauma with the spiritual and cultural contexts of participants’ faith traditions. I trained community members to sustain the work, integrated the program into clergy education, and saw firsthand how this kind of support can ripple outward. That project led to a postdoctoral fellowship at Oxford, where I now teach medical humanities to future physicians and continue research at the intersection of theology, medicine, and trauma.
Thanks to Rotary’s financial support, which enabled my presence in Oxford, I’ve had invaluable opportunities to advance my career, as well as the time and flexibility to pursue meaningful work aligning with my long-term goals. I helped design and teach Medical Humanities at the Oxford Medical School, and our team was honored with the Oxford Vice-Chancellor’s Award in Teaching. I’ve shared my PhD research on uncertainty in medicine at international conferences in England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and America, and was honored to give the keynote address at the McGill Palliative Care Congress in Montreal, Quebec, plenary of the Palliative Care and Psychiatry conference in Northern Ireland, and plenary of the UK Palliative Congress. I taught the findings of my PhD to palliative care clinicians at the Oxford Advanced Course in Palliative Care, wrote a section on uncertainty in medicine for the Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care,and published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, Palliative Medicine Reports,and elsewhere. I had the opportunity to engage in the dialogues on assisted dying legislation by speaking with MPs and the BBC and publishing written evidence for bill safeguards in Parliament. Through these experiences and others, I’m so encouraged to have seen my academic work begin to shape clinical practice. It’s been a gift to be able to work alongside hospice leaders and even be mentored by one of the founders of palliative care, Dr. Robert Twycross. I’m grateful for the ways in which this time at Oxford has been blessed beyond what I could have imagined.
My Rotary mentors and hosts have become dear friends. They’ve supported me through milestones, grief, and moments of celebration. I’ve valued the opportunities to volunteer with Rotary, for example, building a path at a mental health facility, joining the river clean up, serving at family events such as Pooh-sticks, and taking part in fundraising events such as the dinner for polio and the Buscot Run. Thank you also for the opportunities to speak at clubs around England and Michigan and learn from Rotarians there. Beyond the academic and professional impact, Rotary has given me something just as meaningful: community. From pub lunches and walks with my hosts Glyn and Carol, to harp lessons with Margaret, theology chats with Chris, barbeques and volunteering with Richard, to mentorship calls with Rotarians back home in America—your support has meant so much to me. You’ve celebrated milestones with me, stood by me in grief, and reminded me of the values at the heart of Rotary: “Service Above Self.”
My Grandfather joined Rotary as a young man and was proud to be a Rotarian for over 50 years. It was a joy and a privilege to share Rotary with him in the final years of his life. He passed away recently, and I returned to America to be with him during his final weeks. As I walked through his home, I found the Rotary Pins on his jackets and the plaque on his wall from his time as president of his local club. Engraved on that plaque was the same motto I encountered in England: “Service Above Self.” I pray that these words may continue to guide me.
As I begin a postdoctoral fellowship at Oxford and prepare for medical residency, I wanted to take a pause to say thank you. The Rotary Global Grant has been more than a scholarship; it has been a life-changing experience. Thank you for believing in me and for helping me carry forward this work, which I hope will make a lasting difference in the lives of others. I am truly grateful.
Rotary Best,
Ariel