Rotary clubs in District 7350 of Rotary International, which includes, the Rotary Club of Tyrone, are now receiving applications for the 2004-2005 academic year.
Students in grades 10 through 12 are eligible to apply for the program, which involves a year abroad, studying at the high school level and living with one or more host families under the sponsorship of a local Rotary.
Just imagine a Brazilian student making his first snowman in Finland, a South African mastering eating chopsticks at his Japanese host’s home, an Austrailian becoming part of an extended family in Russia and a Mexican student in France raising funds for homeless children in Haiti. Just imagine what an American student can learn from such an exchange.
The applicants will be selected on the basis of a written application and a personal interview conducted by the local Rotary Club and the District 7350 Student Exchange Committee.
The Rotary Clubs of District 7350 have hosted students from Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Slovokia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Indonesia, El Salvador, Mexico, Germany, Thailand, Belgium, France, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador and so many more.
The Rotary Club of Tyrone is currently hosting an exchange student from Croatia. A total of eight students from across the district will experience the 2003-04 academic year in another country. Countries include: French Canada, France, Japan, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Belgium and Chile. Applications must be received at the Rotary Club by Oct. 31 by the Youth Exchange Officer.
For additional information, contact Carla Mae Bumgardner at 684-5339 or mae1@direcway.com. A toll-free number is also available at 1-888-768-2799 for more information about the program. The Student Exchange Program also has a very informative website at www.exchangestudent.org.
The Rotary International Student Exchange program is a unique scholarship for a young person to study abroad. The program consists of many Rotarians and their families with many levels of Rotary organizations around the world. These Rotary organizations select the students, prepare them to go, help with visa, school admission, host family accommodations, etc. All this work is done by Rotarians as a service. No one is paid to do any of this work.
Another major advantage of the program is that every town where a student is placed, members of the local Rotary are directly involved in the welfare of the student. At times of immediate need, students who are away from home will be more comfortable if they know that any Rotarian in the local club will be available to help and offer guidance.
Rotarians are proud to be able to play in the world peace and understanding through the youth of today. It’s an outstanding program because of the outstanding participants involved, making it the most successful Student Exchange program in the world.
