Service: Rotary Youth Exchange

Fang-Wei "Jessie" Hsu

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 15 years, the club has hosted 17 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.

We did not have any applicants to send abroad this year, but our club is pleased to be to hosting 18-year-old Fang-Wei Hsu from Taipei, Taiwan (Rotary District 3480) in Starkville. She goes by her American name “Jessie” and is taking senior classes at Starkville High School.

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

In exchange, our club hosted Francesca Scaravelli from Milan, Italy, and Kasper Eriksen from Aalborg, Denmark. Both were students at Starkville High School.

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, Denmark (2009 - 2010)
Francesca Scaravelli, Italy (2009 - 2010)
Fang-Wei "Jessie" Hsu, Taiwan (2010-11)

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)