Tara Morelock and Olivia Melton were the program guests of Kenneth Green at the Wednesday meeting of the Brundidge Rotary Club.

Morelock is the developmental coordinator for the Sorrell College of Business and Johnson Center for Political Autonomy. Melton is a junior at Troy University majoring in math and economics.

Melton told the Rotarians that her dad is an engineer so she was naturally drawn down the numbered path.

She was excited and honored to receive an internship at the Center of Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, in Washington D.C. over the summer. She viewed the internship as a unique opportunity and treated it as such.

“I wanted to explore and experience everything I could while I was there,” she said. “The media department was a suggestion because I could go to all of the events.”

The full-time staff at CSIS is made up of scholars who conduct research and analysis and

develop policy initiatives that look to the future and anticipate change.

“For the six weeks I was there, I went to two events a day,” Melton said. “I was exposed to research and topics that took me out of my comfort zone. I went to museums and concerts and met so many great people from universities like Harvard and Duke. I developed friendships with people from all across the country. It was an amazing experience.”

For Melton, every experience – every opportunity — is a stepping-stone to her future.

In July, she and Daniel J. Smith were contributors to an op-ed piece in the “Birmingham Business Journal” titled “It’s Time for Birmingham to Drive Uber Plans Forward.”

The Rotarians took the opportunity to question Melton and Morelock on the pros and cons of “today’s taxi.”

The Uber mobile app allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request, which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars. Uber is more convenient, perhaps more reliable and less expensive that the conventional taxi.

Morelock said Uber also provides extra income for many people but it has liability issues that are putting up roadblocks in many cities.

Uber has met with opposition in many cities including Auburn, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham but the Rotarians, laughingly, said they don’t foresee Uber being an issue in Brundidge any time soon.