Youth Exchange Student to Rotarian
Posted by Brad Rosenbaum
Youth Exchange Student to Rotarian
By: TheresaMaria Widawski
I was a senior in high school when someone mentioned that Rotary International, headquartered in a neighboring Chicago suburb, was sponsoring students for their youth exchange program. I immediately applied and was accepted. The organization was unfamiliar to me but I came to learn that it was an all male (at that time) service organization composed of community and business leaders. As the daughter of blue collar parents, I was in awe of the opportunity. So, with great excitement, I went off to the Rotary Club of Matsumoto, Japan where I was received with great kindness. I happily attended Arigasaki High School with my new friends and there I amazed both students and teachers with my “mastery” of English! Over the months, I lived with three families and was educated in the Japanese way of life, customs and thinking. I was sushi savvy before sushi was cool and I daresay, the girl who returned home was not the same one who left the year before.
Over the years I married, moved to Colorado, raised a family, built a business and served on several boards. I would hear the name Rotary now and then. There was a debt needing repayment.
Fast forward to a new millennium. My husband Thom, and I moved to Estes Park, Colorado full time in 2011. At a neighborhood gathering I was told that there were not one, but three Rotary Clubs in town. Hmmmm, Rotary. Now there’s a name that warms my heart. I jumped at the chance to attend a meeting with Rotarian Jim Austin and reconnect with the organization that changed my young life. The opportunity for repayment had presented itself.
Fast forward to a new millennium. My husband Thom, and I moved to Estes Park, Colorado full time in 2011. At a neighborhood gathering I was told that there were not one, but three Rotary Clubs in town. Hmmmm, Rotary. Now there’s a name that warms my heart. I jumped at the chance to attend a meeting with Rotarian Jim Austin and reconnect with the organization that changed my young life. The opportunity for repayment had presented itself.
The pride and the rich memories I carry from being a Rotary Youth Exchange student have never dimmed over the years nor has my conviction that the exchange experience changes the lives of all those who are involved. I saw my father’s WWII battle-hardened heart soften as he experienced the generosity of the Japanese people through me and I like to believe that my interactions with my Japanese families, friends and townspeople added to understanding and goodwill toward the United States. Now the debt I owe the program has inspired me to serve. Today, I am an active Rotarian, including being co-chair of the joint Youth Exchange Committee of the clubs of Estes Park; I learn more about what Rotary is and does and the opportunities to serve every day. Serve, that is another word that warms my heart. It has taken a few years, but this Youth Ex- change student has come full circle. I am a Rotarian.
We are looking for Youth Exchange alumni now living in District 5440. If you or someone you know has participated in the program at any time in the past please contact me at tm@veruscommercial.com or 970-586-4707.