Today, we all got the beautiful honor of planting 600 new plants down the main road from Ciudad Colon to the Univesity for Peace.

I feel so lucky to be a part of an institution whose mission is to help those less fortunate and to make the world a better place through peace studies.

My life is changing by the second.....

The United Nations' University for Peace

Here is where I will be studying for the entire year. Can you believe it! It is about 100 acres of land that was donated to the university by a single philanthropist, so that the university could be built. I have met students from Norway, France, Tanzania, Uganda, Colombia, Spain, Japan, Nepal, Lebanon, Canada, and places you could not even imagine. The student body consists of about 108 students from 40 different countries.

I will be completing a Masters in International Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, and hopefully, with what I have learned from here and the passion I have for people from diverse cultures, I will be able to do something very positive for our world.

Miss all of you!!!

UPEACE MISSION

Established as a Treaty Organization with its own Charter in an International Agreement adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 35/55 of 5 December 1980, the University for Peace has the mission:

"to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace and with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations".

The Charter of the University sets out in its appendix the following general principles:

1. The persistence of war in the history of mankind and the growing threats against peace in recent decades jeopardize the very existence of the human race and make it imperative that peace should no longer be viewed as a negative concept, as the end of conflict or as a simple diplomatic compromise, but rather that it should be achieved and ensured through the most valuable and most effective resource that man possesses: education.
2. Peace is the primary and irrevocable obligation of a nation and the fundamental objective of the United Nations; it is the reason for its existence. However, the best tool for achieving this supreme good for humankind, namely education, has not been used.
3. Many nations and international organizations have attempted to attain peace through disarmament. This effort must be continued; yet facts show that man should not be too optimistic as long as the human mind has not been imbued with the notion of peace from an early age. It is necessary to break the vicious circle of struggling for peace without an educational foundation.
4. This is the challenge that now faces all nations and all men as the twenty-first century approaches. The decision must be made to save the human race, which is threatened by war, through education for peace. If education has been the instrument of science and technology, there is all the more reason to use it to achieve this primary right of the human being.
   
   

Ambassadorial Scholar 2005-2006
LISA REYNA

Lisa Reyna of Houston, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Gulfway/Hobby Airport, was selected by Rotary District 5890 as recipient of a 2005-2006 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship and plans to study the academic year at the United Nations’ University for Peace in San José, Costa Rica.

Lisa graduated Cum Laude from the University of Houston in May 2000. While at the University of Houston, Lisa was given the unique opportunity to work as a student assistant, teaching English as a Second Language, at the University of Houston’s Language and Culture Center (LCC). It was at the LCC where Lisa acquired her passion to work with students from all around the world. After teaching and advising, for over eight years and approximately 1,000 international students later, Lisa decided to pursue a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration/Cross-Cultural Studies from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor.

At the University of Michigan, Lisa worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Office of International Programs; working closely with students interested in studying abroad. After obtaining her Masters degree in 2003, Lisa worked with the Department of State- Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs- Office of International Visitors. Here Lisa got to work closely with diplomats, delegates, and high-ranking international visitors, in addition to meeting President Bush, Senator Kerry, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and President Karzai of Afghanistan. Currently, Lisa is working with the Department of Agriculture Office of Higher Education Programs- Grant Allocation; collaborating with various universities and institutes interested in applying for government grants to further pursue the mission of the department.

Lisa is thrilled and honored to be a part of the Ambassadorial Scholarship program. She is especially excited about studying at a United Nations’ chartered university, particularly since it will entail a program where the demographics of the students are similar to that of the United Nations. After gaining such wonderful experience and expertise, Lisa plans to return to Houston and open her own venture in 2007. International Consul© offers services and training specific to the needs of international students, incoming foreign employees, and businessmen and businesswomen traveling abroad for international business.

Hi Everyone! My name is Lisa Reyna and I am a 2005-2006 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and will be studying at the United Nations' University for Peace in Costa Rica. I look forward to sharing some of my pictures, stories and adventures with all of you.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or just to say hello. I hope that all of you will enjoy my site!

14 days and counting.

See ya soon...

Lisa