RELEASED: June 2, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College graduate Dave Cupery has received a prestigious $25,000 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for study at a foreign university.

Cupery is the fifth Centre student to receive this award since 1991. Two recent Centre graduates have also won Rotary scholarships. Nate Olson '04 will study at Oxford in England this year. Neil Parrish '03 studied in New Zealand during the 2004-05 school year.

Rotary International offers a broad range of programs and activities designed to "improve the human condition and advance the organization's ultimate goal of world understanding and peace."

Cupery, a double major in international studies and economics from Harbor Beach, Mich., studied abroad in Merida, Mexico twice during his Centre career. He completed an internship during CentreTerm, Centre's three-week January term, for Pymexporta, a department of the Yucatan state government that focuses on improving the state's exports sector. His internship involved researching product markets for seafood, honey and habañero peppers in the United States.

"Centre's great study-abroad program was one of the main reasons I came to Kentucky in the first place," Cupery says. "My time in Merida cultivated and confirmed my interest in the region and its issues, as well as in international issues in general. International study, as an academic focus and as an experience, is growing in importance as our world is becoming increasingly interconnected."

Cupery will either study political science with a focus on public policies and civil society at Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Lima, Peru; government at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador; or social sciences at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

"The most significant reason I'm interested in further study in Latin America is that it's so close geographically to the United States, yet it lags so far behind in economic development and political stability," Cupery says. "I'm especially interested in the countries like Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala because they have very large indigenous populations. This adds a new element to these countries' paths toward development because of the different cultures and languages of the indigenous peoples. I look forward to the opportunity to spend an entire year in Latin America, and I'm confident the experience I gain will widen my understanding of our world and its issues and leave me better qualified for whatever career I choose."

Cupery played goalkeeper on the men's soccer team, was a resident assistant, a member of student judiciary, student government and Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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