Rotary Youth Exchange

As soon as District 6900 became a newly certified Rotary Youth Exchange RYE) district, the Rotary Club of East Cobb stepped up to the plate in August and September 2016 seeking 15-19 year old applicants for the 2017-2018 school year. Immediate Past President, Ken Crowell, took the lead in this endeavor from the particular vantage point as District 6900 Youth Safety Officer in charge of compliance with Rotary International youth protection standards. Based on detailed applications and in-depth interviews, three (3) of the eight (8) students selected by District 6900 are sponsored by East Cobb Rotary for the prestigious Rotary Youth Exchange Scholarship, valued at more than $24,000 each. The announcement of selected students and their host country took place in November. Our club's three students are Granger West (France), Ellie Sterling (Sweden), and Olivia Lord (Finland). Students and their parents are attending selected club meetings until departure for destination countries in August 2017.

During seven months in orientation and training sessions the students will be learning to speak, read, write and understand their new target language as well as learn about Rotary and what is expected of student Rotary cultural ambassadors. One of these orientation sessions is being hosted by East Cobb on April 29th. Preparations also are underway for the inbound student our club will host for the 2017-2018 school year, identifying host families and a counselor within the club.

Rotary Youth Exchange is yet another example of how East Cobb Rotary is DAREing TO BE BETTER by stepping forward into a new venture for the club this Rotary year with 7% of club members involved directly so far.