"In 2005, I attended my first Seminar as a Fellow, although Schloss Leopoldskron and Salzburg were certainly not new to me. My husband, Otto Koester, had served as a Deputy Director from 1984-1988, and we continue to hold many fond memories of our time living there and raising our 2 sons, Torin and Reid.

The Seminar I attended addressed the topic of early childhood education -- research and policy issues from a global perspective. During that week of intense discussions, debates, laughter and probing inquiries, I met many remarkable people who shared my commitment to the importance of providing early education for children worldwide who often have little opportunity to attend school even in the later grades. One of these people was a young Ethiopian woman, Waganesh Zeleke, who told me of her work on behalf of children with autism -- in a country where diagnosis of the syndrome was rare and interventions virtually nonexistent. I was impressed and excited, particularly because she came from a country I love: Ethiopia is where Otto and I had served as Peace Corps Volunteers in the late 1960's.

Waganesh and I stayed in touch the following year, and she was soon accepted into a graduate program at the University of Montana where we were teaching. Although she was not in my department, I was able to work closely with her as she pursued her doctoral research on children adopted from Ethiopia by American families. During her stay in Montana, we became very close to Waganesh and her young family and we continue this friendship -- and professional relationship -- to this day, 12 years after our first meeting at the Salzburg Seminar. As a result, we have now returned to Ethiopian several times to teach and advise on curriculum development for graduate programs, and have most recently formalized a partnership agreement between the Universities of Montana and Gondar, in Ethiopia; again, our connection with Waganesh Zeleke helped to make all of this possible.

I am delighted that Waganesh is now a faculty member at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and that she continues to work toward improving the quality of life for children in her home country through her research and training of new Ethiopian scholars in the field of Counselor Education. Being at the Schloss for that session, recognizing the familiar fragrance of the Ethiopian spices she brought with her, and admiring her traditional, beautifully-embroidered dress at the final banquet -- all of these endeared me to this remarkable young woman who was also fortunate to be able to attend the Salzburg Seminar in 2005!"

- Lynne S. Koester