Carol Mattingly serves as chair for the District 5910 youth exchange program. Carol and her late husband started youth exchange for District 5910 in 1988 and have hosted nineteen long term students. She has also served as Rotary counselor for five students and orientation trainer for outbound, inbound, and short-term students. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Youth Exchange Network. She retired after 30 years of teaching for Conroe ISD and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Huntsville.

Rotary youth exchange is an exchange program operated by Rotarians from around the world. This teaches students how people who seem so different are really the same. They begin to appreciate what unites people everywhere and have a broader understanding of the world. Youth exchange plays an essential role in Rotary’s global mission of building peace by helping to build, one exchange at a time, good relationships between nations according to Sakuji Tanaka, Rotary International President 2012-2013.

Rotary youth exchange offers two different programs, a long-term and a short-term program. The long-term program is a school yearlong study abroad exchange program for high school students whereas the short-term is more of a cultural exchange program usually during the summer for approximately three to four weeks.

Students are matched from countries usually but not limited to France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. They are supervised by the local Rotary clubs and the parents/host family assists with the student’s schedule. For the long-term program, they live with 2-4 selected families and attend school there. The student must be 15-18 ½ years old when starting the school year, have a good attitude, reasonable academic skills, be open minded, and able to adjust to cultural differences. They must also have a favorable interview, complete orientation sessions, and follow “the rules” but the parents must do the same as well.

Rotary youth exchange programs are considered the best because it provides the broadest experience, is the most secure, and the most cost effective according to Carol. These participants gain a complete understanding of local culture and are exposed to Rotarians in their community. Students are under the care of local Rotarians and community leaders. All of the volunteers and host families involved with this program are properly vetted. Rotarians in this program are unpaid volunteers and arrange and manage the exchange students; The family of the exchange students pay for this program, not the club. Carol noted there are scholarships available for long term exchange students based on their needs.

Carol stated that this program offers students a better understanding of the world, learn respect for other people and cultures, and develop a respect for their own culture. The long-term exchange students often learn a new language which gives them the opportunity to stand out on university and job applications. They learn skills of how to take care of themselves, develop self-reliance, self-confidence, and independence.

Past students hosted by the Rotary Club of Beaumont include Lara from Paraguay, Pauline from France, Catharina from Brazil, and Bow from Thailand. In 2016-2017, Julia Moyers, a local Beaumont resident, became an exchange student in Japan.

Carol encouraged the Rotary Club of Beaumont to think about hosting another student again in the future. The district helps the host club, they train the youth exchange volunteers, and arrange the exchange. The host club would need to arrange schooling for the incoming student, find 2-3 host families, supervise the student, organize a youth exchange committee, and provide a monthly allowance which would total $1000-$1200 for the extent of the ten-month term. District 5910 currently has 7 incoming students for the 2023-2024 school year.

If you would like to apply or learn more about the Rotary Youth Exchange Program for District 5910, you can contact Carol Mattingly at 936-661-3997 or at 5910rye@gmail.com

Photos by: Tim Sudela