ImageSara Eftekhar has received word that she has been named as a 2015 Rotary Peace Fellow. Sara will pursue a Masters at the Rotary Peace Centre at the University of Bradford in the UK in the field of international studies, peace studies and conflict resolution. The one-year Fellowship covers fees, living and travel expenses and an applied field experience, in excess of $50,000 USD. Sara was chosen out of many candidates and is one of only four Canadians to receive this world-wide honour.

Sara’s passion for peace and social justice is born out of conflict. She and her family fled turmoil and persecution in Iran for a better life in Canada when Sara was 8. Sara’s volunteerism and leadership throughout her school years earned her the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, an Outstanding Youth Award from the Mayor of North Vancouver, the YWCA Vancouver’s Young Women of Distinction Award, and was the youngest to ever be named among the Top 25 Immigrants of Canada. Sara graduated from UBC with honours in Nursing.

 

A graduate degree in Peace Conflict and Development will enable Sara to pursue her long-term goals of building on her nursing foundation to be able to expand her work from an individual level to that which can address inequities at the population level around the world and obtain a high leadership position within the World Health Organization. “We are truly honoured and proud that Sara Eftekhar, our Club nominee, has been chosen from among many other talented young people to receive the 2015 Rotary Peace Fellowship. Sara is already a very accomplished young woman, and this Fellowship means that she will continue to lead and give back so much to the world in the years to come. Sara exemplifies Rotary’s commitment to community leadership, global citizenship and fellowship.” Anne Marie Ferguson, President, Rotary Club of Lions Gate, North Vancouver.