Expand Your World

Expand Your Horizons

Become A Rotary Youth Exchange Student

Every year, about 8,000 young people from around the world participate in Rotary’s Youth Exchange Program. With Rotary’s Youth Exchange program you will travel to another country, learn a new language, and experience the culture in this new land.  You will live with host families as you learn about the culture and you continue your high school education.  As an unofficial ambassador for Rotary, your community and your country, you will bring the world closer together while you’re making lifetime friends.
 
If this experience sounds like something you would like to learn more check out the programs below.

Long Term Program

Who is Eligible?

Any High School student who ranks in the upper third of his or her class, possesses good character, has an outgoing and pleasant personality, is able to accept discipline, and is capable of adjusting to new and sometimes challenging conditions is eligible. a desire to learn about other countries and cultures and to appreciate and accept these differences, is essential. Children of non-Rotarians as well as those of Rotarians are equally eligible to participate. The student must be 15 years old and cannot be older than 18 1/2 at the time school begins overseas, usually in late August or early September in the Northern Hemisphere.

How Do You Apply?

Fill out the application linked on this web site.  Contact Walter Lundstrom.  Once you have given your application to a sponsoring Rotary Club, you will be interviewed by a member of the Club and given more information regarding the selection process.

Application Forms

Complete the Long Term application. Once you have been interviewed and accepted the complete the Long Term application will be forwarded to the district for your district interview. Application for Long Term Program This file requires Adobe Reader. The Long Term application can be filled out on your computer, printed and saved. This application must be typed. Handwritten applications will not be accepted.

Short Term Program

Family to Family Exchange

Rotary International has sponsored a Youth Exchange program for more than 30 years. The goal of our program has always been the creation of world-wide goodwill and international understanding. The Short Term Exchange Program (STEP) is one of the ways that Rotary implements this goal. Through STEP, young people from many different countries get the opportunity to spend a summer together, learning about different countries and cultures.

Our Program

Your son or daughter will be hosted by his/her matched family in another country for four weeks during the summer. Your family will reciprocate by hosting your matched international student for a similar period. Students traveling to Finland will exchange in reverse, with the Finnish students arriving here in June and our students traveling to Finland in July. Some of the Southern hemisphere countries have “split-exchanges” with each student traveling during their appropriate school vacations (typically December-January). Due to conflicts with school calendars, it is always possible that students may have the added bonus of attending school for a week during their exchange.

What Does it Cost?

The parents and student pay the cost for the student's airline ticket and an administrative fee that includes health insurance for both the Outbound and Inbound student. The total cost for a student is usually less than $1,500.

Information

To learn more about the Short Term Exchange Program, contact Kathy Gatterdam.

If you have specific questions, you may contact us by e-mail:

The application form and informational brochure require Adobe Reader. Click the link below for a free download. This application must be typed. Handwritten applications will not be accepted  save it for printing later or to make changes as needed.

Once You Become An Outbound Exchange Student, What Do You Have To Do

 As an exchange student, you’re job is to be a goodwill ambassador representing Rotary, District 6690, and the US. People here in the US will judge our program on your behavior, and the people you touch overseas will literally get their strongest perception about the US from you (good or bad…). Part of being an effective goodwill ambassador is to be prepared, and because of that, the following learning requirements are mandatory parts of the program.

 

  • Student must attend all the fun YE monthly weekends
  • Parents must attend December, February, and July (LT only) weekends
  • 3-4 research papers* to write
  • Help sponsoring Rotary club with service projects
  • Start learning the new language immediate after receiving your country match.
  • Students and parents responsibility to monitor web site for info about weekends, research papers, etc.
  • Mid and post exchange reports (short term)
  • Monthly reports (long term)
  • Rebound debriefing weekend

 RESEARCH PAPERS  & REQUIRED GROUNDWORK

*Four research papers and each paper should be 750-1000 words. The purpose of the papers is for you to be prepared for your exchange. Short terms: email to the papers to Kathy Gatterdam kgatterdam@columbuscoal.com. Long terms: email the papers to  Walter Lundstrom WalterLundstrom@gmail.com

 1. What is Rotary? (Due 1 week before the January RYE weekend)

2. USA, Ohio, and your home town. (Due 1 week before the March weekend)

3. Your host country and city. (Due 1 week before the May RYE weekend)

4. The difference in culture between your home country and host country. This paper takes a lot of research, because you’re looking for the deep cultural differences, not music and food. (Only for long term students. Due 1 week before the July RYE weekend. Email it to Walter Lundstrom). Papers, if acceptable, may be published on the District Web Site.

Paper 1-3 are for all out-bounds. Paper 4 is only for long term out-bounds.

In addition to the above papers, after you get your country match up, you’ll also need to translate the letter that was in your application to your new host language. Please email it to Kathy (ST) or Walter (LT).

Failing to deliver any of these research papers or the translated letter on time, will jeopardize your exchange and may result in you not being part of the program!

 LANGUAGE LEARNING

When you get your country match, you must also start to learn your host language. There are numerous programs available. Rosetta Stone might be one of the best ones, but that is up to each student to find what works best for you and your budget.

PRESENTATION TO ROTARY CLUB

After you have been accepted in to the program (after the district interviews) you’ll need to get in touch with your sponsoring Rotary club to setup a time in April / May for you to do a 20 minutes Power Point presentation. I’ll give you more information about that later. Most clubs fill  up their programs quickly, so get in touch with them right away after you are accepted.

 ONE IN 7,000 US HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DO THIS. BE THAT ONE

You have started a life changing experience that VERY few people go through. I don’t know the statistics for short term exchanges, but according to a National Geographic study last year, only one US high school student in 7,000 becomes an exchange student! You’re very special!