Welcome to Rotary Youth Exchange

 

Rotary Youth Exchange District 5840

Applications for the '25-'26 school year are due September 15, 2024
 

Long-Term Exchange:

For a truly amazing, life-changing experience, there is nothing like the Long-Term Exchange. Students spend a school year in another country, becoming fluent in the language and immersed in the culture, and developing friendships that will last a lifetime.
 

Participants attend high school, and may or may not get credit back home for courses taken (but colleges often recognize the value of exchange programs with credit for language ability and greater acceptance rates!). Each student will have two (or more) host families through the year to broaden the experience and see the variations that exist in all cultures.
 

It takes a very special teen to consider himself or herself capable of spending a year abroad, but the rewards and experiences are unlike anything you may ever know again. If you think you can do this, don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
 

Short-Term/Summer Exchange:

Rotary’s Short Term Exchange program usually takes place during the summer and brings together paired families from different countries. Typically, you would spend 3-4 weeks overseas with a family that has a son or daughter of approximately the same age. And then, you and your new host sibling would come back to the US for a similar period of time with your family. The Short-Term Program does not generally include school attendance, but instead provides its educational experiences through exposure to a new language and culture. For younger students, or perhaps those wanting to sample the experience before committing to the Long-Term Exchange, Rotary’s Short Term Exchange program can be ideal. 

 

You can find answers to most of your questions by going to the South Central Rotary Youth Exchange ("SCRYE") website at www.scrye.org. Check out the FAQs under the "Future Student Info" tab.  If you decide that you are ready to become a RYE student, please complete your application for either the Long-Term Exchange or the Short-Term Exchange and mail it to the following address by September 15, 2024:

 

 

Once your application is submitted, please plan to attend the mandatory Interviews/Orientation held by our District Committee on October 12, 2024 in Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, 202 W Kronkosky St. Boerne, Texas. You will get more details about the Interviews after we receive your completed application.

 

 

Stephen D. Finch
Rotary District 5840 Youth Exchange Committee
Chair/District YEO 2022-25
sfinch@stephenfinchlaw.com
105 West Donegan, Seguin, Texas 78155

1.830.372.4036

Ruben Cardenas, Jr.
Rotary District 5840 Youth Exchange Committee
Vice-Chair 2024-25
ruben@rubencardenasjr.com
1.210.889.4020

 

 

 

The late Past District Governor Floyd Harriman established the Youth Exchange Program in our district in 1969. The Rotary Club of Pleasanton exchanged a student, Floyd's daughter, Patty, with Denmark. That year, the Pleasanton Club hosted a student, Alette Kolstrop, and the Alamo Heights Club hosted a student, Bente Ingvarson, also from Denmark. Since those first three students, our district has sponsored more than 1,200 inbound and outbound students.

At the Rotary International Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1974, the Convention recognized the program as an integral part of Rotary International and since that time has endorsed the program wholeheartedly. The program is a means of advancing international understanding and goodwill. The program each year now involves more than 8,000 students from 82 countries, making it one of Rotary's largest, most popular and most successful programs. The Youth Exchange Program involves more dollars being spent than any other program in Rotary International except for PolioPlus. Recent RI studies estimate that more than $42 million annually is spent on the Youth Exchange Program by parents, clubs and districts, with very little funding flowing through RI.

The program is open to young men and women ages 15 to 181/2, who may be children or grandchildren of Rotarians or non-Rotarians. The students' parents, local Rotary clubs, and the district finance the program. Selection is based on a written application as well as personal interviews at the club and district levels with the applicant and the applicant's parents.

The two types of exchanges are:

• A long-term exchange for an academic year, during which the student lives with more than one host family and attends school in the host country.
• A short-term summer exchange, for three to four weeks. It does not include an academic program.

Are you interested in becoming a Rotary Youth Exchange Student? To learn more, see the links and documents to the left:

• Youth Exchange Handbook
• Guide for Exchange Students
• Guide for Host Families
• Link to South Central Rotary Youth Exchange (SCRYE) at scrye.org. SCRYE is an organization of 36 Rotary districts in 15 states that helps promote and facilitate Rotary Youth Exchange through training and resources to help member districts manage their exchange programs.

Inbound Students: learn more about your insurance coverage at CISI-Bolduc.com.

See "Quick Tips on CISI-Bolduc Insurance" in the Downloads section to the left for information about filing a claim and getting more information about your insurance coverage.