Ambassadorial Scholar Finds Success with Comic Strip

Going from an Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to the "funny pages" might seem odd to some, but to Dave Kellett, it's a wish come true. Kellett, a 1999 District 5340 scholar from Carlsbad, has a lifelong dream to be a professional cartoonist. Starting Dec. 17th, he comes one step closer to that dream, when his comic strip "Sheldon" is picked up by United Media -- the largest comic strip syndication company in the country.

In some respects, Kellett and "Sheldon" have beat the odds. On average, United Media receives between 3000 and 5000 proposals for new comic strips every year. Of those, the company generally chooses only two. Now that it's reached that select group, "Sheldon" will be appearing online at www.comics.com, where it will be watched for readership levels. If the comic strip earns enough of an audience tuning in daily, it stands a great chance of being launched in papers nationwide. Kellett credits his Rotary studies in Canterbury, England, where he was able to focus in on great WWII European cartoonists. "Spending a year poring over their work taught me more than you can imagine," says Kellett." I was able to learn what it takes to communicate effectively through cartoons." And now that "Sheldon" is poised for national distribution, Kellett finds himself excited with the unique role his comic strip allows: "What could be better than sharing a little bit of laughter with thousands of people every day?"