Viking Magazine - February 2014 - 34

Member Matters
Scholarship Recipients: Where Are They Now?
Scholarships from the Sons of Norway Foundation provide students with the chance to pursue
their academic dreams. We caught up with three recipients who are making a difference in the world.
Dr. Jill Bente Rolland
Scholarship: King Olav V NorwegianAmerican
Scholarship
Job: Director of the U.S. Department of the
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey's Western
Fisheries Research Center
Current City: Seattle, Wash.
" In 1992 I
received the
King Olav V
scholarship,
which supported
a trip to
Austevoll, an
island outside
of Bergen,
Norway, to do a
summer internship at the Austevoll marine
biological station. That summer internship
was pivotal in my career and led me to
pursue graduate studies at the University of
Bergen. I completed my master's degree in
1995 in fi sh health and went on to receive my
doctorate degree in fi sh health. From 2002
to 2012, I worked for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, Veterinary Services in the
Washington D.C. area. In the fall of 2012, I
became the director of the U.S. Department
of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey's
Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle,
Washington. I manage the science center,
which is focused exclusively on fi sheries
research. My time in Norway resulted in many
collaborations with Norwegian scientists at
the University of Bergen and the Norwegian
Veterinary Institute that are ongoing today. "
Rachel Peterson
Scholarship: King Olav V NorwegianAmerican
Scholarship
Job: Program Manager, Nobel Peace
Prize Forum
Current City: Minneapolis, Minn.
" In 2006 I
was fortunate
to receive a
King Olav V
Scholarship from
Sons of Norway
Foundation to
put towards
completing
my master's
degree in Peace & Confl ict Transformation
Studies at the University of Tromsø in
Norway. After completing my degree, I
worked as Regional Leader for Save the
Children in the northern half of Norway for
six years, focusing primarily on the rights of
refugee and asylum-seeking children and
child protection. During the 2006-2007
academic year, I visited the Nobel Museum
in Karlskoga and proudly posed for a
picture with a statue of Alfred Nobel. Little
did I know that seven years later I would
be working as Program Manager for the
Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Minneapolis. I
am happy to be back in my home state of
Minnesota and am thrilled to be working for
the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. "
Ainslie Avery
Scholarship: Lund Fund scholarships
Job: Senior Legislative and Policy Advisor,
Government of British Columbia, Canada
Current City: Victoria, British Columbia
" The scholarships
that I received
in 2011 and
2012 helped me
pursue a master
of arts degree in
Migration and
Refugee Studies
at the American
University in
Cairo, Egypt. Through this program, I gained
insight into the challenges facing refugees
and migrants around the world, with a focus
on refugee and migrants in and from the
Middle East and North Africa. As part of my
program, I was able to participate in a conference
on EU migration policy in Turkey. I had
an internship with an NGO (nongovernmental
organization) offering legal aid to refugees in
Cairo, and completed a thesis on the impact
of the international refugee policy regime on
urban refugees. I believe that both the experience
of living in Egypt, and the knowledge I
gained through my degree program, will be
of immense value as I pursue my career in
working with refugees internationally. I
thank the Sons of Norway Foundation for
their support. "
Are you a former sons of Norway Foundation Scholarship recipient?
Email your story to foundation@sofn.com.
Sons of Norway members and lodges may support the Sons of Norway Foundation Scholarships through donations at sonsofnorway.com/foundation.
34 VIKING FEBRUARY 2014 sonsofnorway.com

http://www.sonsofnorway.com/foundation http://www.sonsofnorway.com

Viking Magazine - February 2014

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