Edina High School senior Katerina Duda has been named a Guatemala Literacy Fellow.
Duda is an Edina Rotary Global Scholar. She completed her Global Scholars capstone project last year, researching literacy in Guatemala. During her research, she came across the Guatemala Literacy Project, one of the largest grassroots, multi-club, multi-district projects in Rotary. More than 800 clubs and 90 districts have been working together since 1997 to improve education for underserved students in Guatemala. In that time, more than 295,000 students have been served through four sustainable programs that are tested and proven to work.
Duda wrote a grant application to the Edina Rotary Foundation, asking for funding for the Guatemala Literacy Project. The foundation awarded the project $2,500.
“I love to read and I’m something of a freelance writer. Reading is such a wonderful gift – one that not all children around the world have,” Duda said. “I am proud that my research project turned into something that made a tangible difference.”
For her research and help in securing additional funding, the Guatemala Literacy Project named Duda a Guatemala Literacy Fellow and presented her and Rotary Club of Edina President Shelly Loberg with special pins.