Rotary Youth Exchange

Mar 10, 2015

Elizabeth Van Sant

Rotary Youth Exchange is one of Rotary's oldest international programs and is a key component of Rotary's New Generations and Peace initiatives. Through Rotary Youth Exchange, students aged 15-18 1/2 spend one full school year studying in another country. The friendships, perspectives, and languages gained in that school year are critical to each student's individual growth and to our global capacity for communication, tolerance and understanding.

Rotary District 6840 is looking for young people to spend an entire school year abroad as Rotary Youth Exchange Students and for local families to host Rotary Youth Exchange Students from abroad. This program is based on the idea of hospitality and students learning their host culture through daily contact with classmates and families. Rotary Youth Exchange Students attend one school for one academic year and generally stay with 2-3 families (for 3-5 months each) during that time. This is to increase their learning of the local culture and to make it an easier commitment for the host families. Participating students and host families DO NOT need to have any prior connection to a Rotary Club to apply. Unlike other Rotary programs, families of Rotarians MAY apply to be students or hosts.

Application deadline for the 2015-2016 school year is NOVEMBER 7; the application is found by clicking on "Information for Students" on this page. Note that for every student we send abroad, we need 3 host families. If you are planning to apply in a later year, you can still host this year to ensure another applicant is able to participate.