What do you get when you invite a Taiwanese, an Italian and a Pole to join 30 Rotarians in a Zoom Room? A Rotary Youth Exchange Reunion!
Since 2016, After Hours has had the privilege of hosting four Rotary Youth Exchange students. We had the VERY special opportunity to connect with our former YE students, Eugene (from Taiwan), Clara (from Italy) and Miki (from Poland) to hear updates on their lives since returning to their home countries. It was 4 AM for Eugene and 1 AM for Clara and Miki, but that early morning hours didn't stop their personalities from shining through.
Eugene has been busy taking photos and is seriously considering a career path in photography, although he is currently going to school for IT. When his parents think he's busy doing coding in his room, he's actually busy learning photo editing like Photoshop and Lightroom. Check out his Instagram page (eugenener) and give him some likes! "I appreciate you" is commonly heard in the US and is not in Taiwan. Eugene misses that and tries to incorporate telling others that into his daily life.
Clara is in her final year of school and will graduate in July in Diplomatic and International Sciences. She would like to do something in the human rights area. Outside of school she hangs out with her friends and plays Ultimate Frisbee which may bring her back to the US to compete in the World Championships in Ohio. Cross your fingers we get a visit from Clara in 2022!
Miki is the "happiest person on the planet right now!" After he got back to Poland and graduated from school, he became a Sauna Master and "it's the best job on the planet." He has a lot of fun throwing towels around and making decent money. "I'm a really happy guy right now." He is also taking a soccer referee course to ref games in the future. Of course he most misses his host family - Dani and Erich.
These three hold special places in our hearts and we are proud of the young adults they are becoming.
If you missed the opportunity to join, you can watch the full meeting recording on our YouTube channel.
