Caleb Nekrasoff recently returned home after a year in Sweden.
It was an eye-opening experience for the Trail teenager.
“I think the best part about my exchange was being able to see the world from other perspectives and making global friendships,” Nekrasoff says of his Rotary Youth Exchange experience.
He’s not the only student with a new world view: Brooklyn Donovan of Rossland was also a Rotary Youth Exchange student in France this last school year.
Both students were sponsored by Rossland Rotary Club, and these students are two of thousands of young people from around the world who journey to another land and live for a year in the homes of host families selected by local Rotary Clubs.
While abroad, the youths attend school, share in household duties, and assume the life of a normal teenager in the country where they live. And while they are learning, their host families and others are learning too, because every Rotary Exchange Student is also a young ambassador, sharing their ideas, culture, and making friends in a distant part of the world.
Typically, a student stays with up to three families in a year so students stay with each family about three to four months instead of a full year. This gives the student a more well-rounded experience in a culture than living with one family, and the student can experience family life from multiple perspectives. The host families are not necessarily Rotarians, but host families are selected by the local Rotary Club.
While local students are out of country, Rossland Rotary hosts students from other countries who live with local host families selected by Rossland Rotary. This coming academic year we will welcome Michel Heeke from Germany and Pablo Cuevas from Chile. These two young men will live with host families in Rossland from December through February.
Rotary also sponsors a Short-Term Youth Exchange Program, a 60-day family-to-family exchange program during summer months open to students between 15 and 19 years old.
Long-term exchange allows for full immersion
The Rotary Long-Term Youth Exchange Program is open to students between the ages of 15 and 18, as of August 1 of the departure year. The exchange runs an academic year, 10-12 months, during which the student is sponsored by a local Rotary Club, lives with host families, and attends school. Last year, prospective Rossland students could choose from 20 host countries. This program aims to promote peace and inter-country understanding, while providing a challenging and enriching experience for selected student participants. Many students say it is a life-changing experience.
This coming September, Rossland Rotary will be seeking local students to participate in the Long-Term exchange program in the 2019-2020 academic year. Planning well ahead of the school year of exchange is necessary to coordinate all the worldwide exchanges and Preliminary Applications are due by October 1. Applications and much more information can be found on the Rotary District Youth Exchange website: www.rotary5080ye.org .
Rossland Rotary encourages learning more about being a youth exchange student before considering making an application. Contact Fiona Martin, Rossland Rotary’s Youth Exchange Officer, fiona@rosslandrotary.org or 250-362-9190 to learn more. The Rossland Rotary Club website also has more information about former exchange students: www.rotary5080ye.org .
