Even first ladies need a break sometime, and Sandra Roelofs, the first lady of the Republic of Georgia, visited Agnes Scott College Sept. 21 to work in a swim session during an official tour of Atlanta.
Roelofs took advantage of the aquatic facilities housed in the college’s Woodruff Gymnasium, and several Agnes Scott students met the first lady and had their picture taken with her.
“The pool was nice,” Roelofs said after swimming laps for about 45 minutes in the competition-sized pool in the Woodruff Gymnasium. “It’s the perfect size.”
Roelofs is traveling in the United States with her husband, Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of the Republic of Georgia. Saakashvili and Roelofs are attending high-level diplomatic meetings at the United Nations this week.
A native of the Netherlands, Roelofs has been an advocate of world health and involved with many aspects of Georgian society. In 1998, Roelofs founded the SOCO Foundation, a charitable non-governmental organization which conducts humanitarian projects for the most vulnerable groups.
Roelofs has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Roelofs has earned a degree in nursing and has also served as chairperson over projects such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Georgia.
“We are excited that such an international dignitary was able to visit our campus,” said Donna Lee, dean of students “Sandra Roelofs is living the mission of Agnes Scott by engaging the social and intellectual challenges of her time. She is a wonderful example for our students, and I am so glad they had a chance to meet her.”
Roelofs said she enjoys the time she is able to spend in Atlanta. “It’s not like New York,” Roelofs said of Atlanta. “The people here are very warm and friendly. They will come right up to you and say, ‘Hi!’”
Her visit has included stops to various health organizations, such as Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Grady Memorial Hospital, CARE International and Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing of Emory University.
She also visited Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Georgia State University while in Atlanta. She met the first lady of the state of Georgia, Mary Perdue, and toured the World of Coca Cola dined with Atlanta Hawks basketball player and fellow Georgian, Zaza Pachulia.
Roelofs’ visit to Atlanta was hosted and organized by the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City Committee and Emory University’s Office of International Affairs.