Family to Family ExchangeRotary
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!