Rotary hosts 3 Youth Exchange students

 

The local Rotary clubs also helped place four Edina teens in other countries as part of the Youth Exchange program.

 

For more on the students and the Rotary Youth Exchange program, click on the link below.

The Rotary Clubs of Edina and Edina Morningside are hosting three Youth Exchange students this school year. All are attending Edina High School.

 

Through the Rotary International Youth Exchange program, students learn a new language, discover another culture, and truly become global citizens. Exchanges for students 15 to 19 years old are sponsored by Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries. Youth exchange is the local Rotary clubs’ largest annual investment. Locally, the three students arrived in Minnesota in August.

Susmita Gautam from Lalitpur, Nepal, previously attended a boarding school in Nepal and comments how she enjoys the beautiful green hills and song birds near her school. Susmita likes to study math and accounting. In her free time, Susmita enjoys picnics and hiking, music and sports with her friends and brothers and sisters. She is most comfortable in the company of other peers and looks forward to giving back to her school that has provided for her education, and sharing her life experiences and ideas with
those around her.

 

Seo-jun Lee, from Pyeongtaek-si, South Korea, is 16. Seo-jun, or “Sam,” loves soccer, jogging, playing ping-pong and boxing. He has studied English, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese and really enjoys studying languages; both of his parents are language teachers! Sam also plays the guitar and prefers the 19th Century Spanish guitar music. Sam’s strong patriotism was sparked during a nationwide pilgrimage.

 

Francisco Tebar Gomez (shown above with his first host family, Tom and Catherine Gump), or “Paco,” hails from a town near Valencia, Spain. The town is near the ocean, so Paco enjoys many beach sports and activities and riding his bike and hiking in nearby mountains. Paco is a very good soccer player and plays for Edina High School. Paco’s favorite school subjects are science and sports and he has studied French, Spanish and English.

The local Rotary clubs also helped place four Edina teens in other countries as part of the Youth Exchange program. Holly Caboti-Jones, a recent graduate of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, is in Brazil. Edina High School graduates Katherine Ann Clark, Ivette Gonzalez and Kayley Kuck are also on exhanges. Katherine is studying in Belgium, Gonzalez in South Korea and Kuck in Spain. They will return home to Minnesota late next summer.

 

For information on the Youth Exchange program or to volunteer to host a student, contact Terry Stevens, 612-799-8311.