President-Elect Barry Mendelawitz hosted Perth Rotary visitors – Rotary Exchange student Chiara Colombo from Italy and Host Parent Jill Dawson
It was almost coincidental that less than a week after the Board agreed to start participating in Rotary Youth Exchange again, we had a presentation from a RYE student from Italy. Chiara Colombo has been at Perth Rotary since July 2018. She told us all about her home, family, pets, as well as all the things she has been doing since coming to Perth. It was clear from the end of her talk that she is really going to miss being here.
It was also clear from her most recent Host Mother Jill Dawson, that Perth Rotary is very experienced at hosting exchange students. Jill has been hosting exchange students since she had two very young children and was living in Quairading. She has three grown up children now, one of whom went on exchange, and has had at least one exchange student living in her home every year since the first one in Quairading.
Jill expressed her delight at hearing Applecross Rotary was getting back into RYE, and offered to help mentor Applecross members who hadn’t any recent experience in hosting an overseas student.