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LLNS gift helps Livermore high graduates plan Russian visit

(Download Image) Jim Bono (left) director of LLNL Public Affairs Office, presents a gift of $5,000 on behalf of LLNS, to Bill Nebo (far right) of the Rotary Club of Livermore. Looking on are Livermore High School graduates Dennis Dang, Ashkai Prahba, Ian McNair, Devin Rodriguez and Luke Lalor. Photo by Jacqueline McBride/LLNL
A $5,000 gift from Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), the entity that manages the Laboratory, was presented to the Rotary Club of Livermore this week to help pay the travel expenses of five local students who will visit the city of Snezhinsk in Russia this summer for a cultural exchange experience.

Devin Rodriguez, Luke Lalor, Ian McNair, Ashkai Prahba and Dennis Dang -- all 2011 Livermore High School graduates -- were members of the school's Rotary Interact Club. After talking with students from the Snezhinsk Rotary Club through Skype (a video computer program that allows for remote real-time communication) the Livermore students were invited by Snezhinsk students to participate in a 10-day camp in Russia.

The Livermore Rotary Club heard about the invitation and stepped up. Through its organization's past president Bill Nebo, the rotary organized a fundraising effort, which included a request to LLNS for additional resources to help support the effort.

The 17 year-old students are excited about leaving next month for a two-week visit.

"I am hoping to teach the Russian students more about how to serve their community," McNair said at the Rotary Club meeting, where the LLNS gift was presented.

"I realize that this is one of the few times the Livermore Rotary has sent students to Russia," Rodriguez said. "I want to thank the Lab and the Rotary Club of Livermore."

"This is a great group of guys," Nebo said about the students. "They don't get any better than this group."

Look for more about the students' visit to Russia in a future edition of Newsline .

June 16, 2011

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Linda A Lucchetti
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