Service: Rotary Youth Exchange

Kasper Eriksen and Francesca Scaravelli

Anna Follet and Laura Bridges

Takatoshi Sato celebrated his 17th birthday at our club meeting soon after he arrived as our 2008-09 Rotary Youth Exchange student. Taka’s enthusiasm, outgoing personality, and involvement in school and church activities have won him many friends throughout the community. He is from Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan.

Marie Baran from France (left) and Ruth Schorling from Germany were our Rotary Youth Exchange students for the 2006-07 year. This was the first year that our club has hosted more than one RYE student at a time.

In 2007-08 we hosted two students –Maryna Melnik from Belarus (left) and Negrita Caicedo from Ecuador. Tori Ferguson (right) represented Starkville Rotary Club and Mississippi in Quito, Ecuador.

The Starkville Rotary Club is the only club in District 6820 to be actively involved in Rotary Youth Exchange. This program promotes international goodwill and understanding by providing high school students between the ages of 15 and 19 an opportunity to spend one year living and studying in another country.

Over the past 14 years, the club has hosted 16 foreign students and sent 10 Starkville youths abroad for this life-changing experience. Rotary Youth Exchange students live with two to four families during their year and become active in school and community life. This cultural experience benefits the students, their host families, fellow students, and everyone with whom the exchange students interact during the year.

This year, our exchange is with District 2040 in northern Italy and District 1450  in Denmark.  Two Starkville girls are spending their junior (11th grade) year abroad. Laura Bridges is living and studying in Billund, Denmark. Anna Follett is hosted by the Rotary Club of Bergamo, Italy and living with a host family in the small nearby community of Torre Boldone.

In exchange, our club is hosting Francesca Scaravelli from Milan, Italy, and Kasper Eriksen from Aalborg, Denmark. Both are students at Starkville High School – Francesca is a senior and Kasper a junior.

Rotary Youth Exchange students hosted by Starkville Rotary Club include:

Sarah Loiseau, France (1996-97)
Johanna Laaja, Finland (1997-98)
Luis Garcia, Venezuela (1998-99)
Silje Usterud , Norway (2000-01)
Philippe Olivier , France (2002-03)
Johanna Rodriguez, Peru (2003-04)
Karla Zuniga, Peru (2004-05)
Matilde Relli , Italy (2005-06)
Marie Baran, France (2006-07)
Ruth Schorling, Germany (2006-07)
Maria "Negrita" Caicedo, Ecuador (2007-08)
Maryna Melnik, Belarus (2007-08)
Estefania “Nia” Romero, Venezuela (2008)
Takatoshi “Taka" Sato, Japan (2008 - 2009)
Kasper Eriksen (2009 - 2010)
Francesca Scaravellia (2009 - 2010)

Starkville youths our club has sent abroad as Rotary Youth Exchange Ambassadors are:

Ruth Crowell, Belgium (1996-97)
Teal Waterstrat, Finland (1997-98)
Erik Milroie, Norway (2000-01)
Julia Cathcart, France (2002-03)
Allison Noffsinger, Peru (2003-04)
Alex Lewis, Italy (2005-06)
Elizabeth Dunn, France (2006-07)
Victoria "Tori" Ferguson, Ecuador (2007-08)
Laura Bridges (2009-2010)
Anna Follett (2009-2010)