Jen Laughton and Morgan Bodnarak
This week we heard from invited guests Jen Laughton and Morgan Bodnarak of the District 5370 Youth Exchange Committee. Our club in interested in partnering with another club to sponsor a student for the 2027/28 program. Both Jen and Morgan are former Youth Exchange participants, Jen having gone to Russia in 2007/8 and Morgan to Brazil in 2017/18. They are both now active members of the District 5370 Youth Exchange Committee.
The program sponsors selected high school students between the ages of 16 by the end of 2027 and no older than 18 by the end of June 2028. They must also still be enrolled in school at the time of departure in August of 2027. They can suggest which country, from our approved list, but there is no guarantee that they will be selected for that country. There is an established list of items and expenses that the sponsoring and hosting Clubs are expected to cover. There are also a set of both required and suggested requirements that the selected student must meet and as well as some incidental expenses which they are expected to cover.
In return the Club sending a student also agrees to host an Inbound Student from another country.
The selected students are notified of their selection in the spring of 2026 and spend the following year as Outgoing Students, expected to take part in various Rotary functions and workshops in addition to language training. They usually depart for their intended country in August and must return in June/July the following year, as they are travelling on a student VISA.
They spend their year away as Inbound Students and the host Rotary club is then responsible for their accommodation with host families, schooling and general well being. The Inbound Counsellor in the host country becomes the legal guardian for the Inbound student during their stay.
On their return to Canada they are known as Rebound Students and are provided with support to help them re establish in Canada.
The sponsoring club/s are responsible for providing financial and counselling support for a wide variety of things for their Outbound Student, all of which are clearly laid out by Rotary. They are also responsible for providing several host families for the corresponding Inbound student. This program has been around for a long time and the enjoyment, security and safety of our sponsored students guides our strict requirements for the selection of Rotary Outgoing/ Inbound Counsellors and Host families.
Further information on all of the detailed guidelines, responsibilities, legal requirements, ways to find both students and host families and a list of approved countries is available from the District 5370 Rotary Youth Exchange Committee.
