I know this is not the norm....but, I recently met with a past client and current friend, Conrad Folkes.... and I felt he had a worthwhile story that I wanted to share with all of you.   

 

Conrad is a first-generation Jamaican American who spent the first seven years of his life as an "only child" in Brooklyn, NY....His Mom immigrated to the United States in her early 20's, like almost all of her six older siblings did before her. .....Her father, Conrad's Grandfather was a Police Officer, then later a Judge in their home country of Jamaica!  He even received accolades from the Queen of England herself during his various tenures within his field of occupation.  Conrad was very close to his grandparents as he would visit Jamaica often as a younger child.   When he turned seven years old,  Mom married and moved to the Pittsburgh suburb of Bellview to build a new life.   Conrad attended the North Gate School District throughout his childhood.   As a 10-year-old, Conrad's step Dad taught him how to rebuild computers, and refurbish them to donate to those in need....The spirit of giving back to the community was born in Conrad as a youngster.  During his formative years, Conrad felt the regular pressures of a typical teenager both in school and at home.  He was itching for more than just the everyday routine.

 

During his sophomore year in High School, someone introduced Mom to members of one of the local Rotary clubs.  After she researched the program a bit and the opportunities it would offer, Conrad's Mom broached the subject of being a youth exchange student through the Rotary program.   Conrad jumped at the chance and chose France or Quebec, Canada as his preferred host country.   He loved the French language.   Quebec was chosen for him, and he went in his Junior year of high school!   

 

Conrad traveled to Rimouski, French-speaking city hours north of bi-lingual cities like Montreal or Quebec City in the Canadian providence at the banks of the St. Lawrence River.   In going to Quebec, Conrad did not realize how much the language and the cultural barrier would impede him.   He could not make jokes or ask questions, which is part of his DNA!  He could not be himself.   His first host family's patriarch was the former president of Rotary.   They had one son who was Conrad's age and one daughter who went into the exchange program, and by chance went to Pittsburgh, PA!!!!!   The second host family was a little on the boring side for Conrad's tastes and were true homebodies....Conrad needed to explore this region, and knew he had a limited amount of time!   His third host family was just right.....they were laid back, but, adventurous.  Their son took Conrad around to hang with his friends.   And, as a bonus, they lived by the beach.   He stayed with them from February to August. 

 

At the beginning of his trip to Quebec, he found school to be extremely difficult than what he experienced here in the States.  In Quebec, students spent just as much time in class....but seemed to have more time to relax as part of the daily routine.  During downtime, Quebecois students would pass the time visiting the nearby shopping mall or getting their energy out at the in-house dance club....or you could find students and teachers smoking together (talk about culture shock)!   Conrad always enjoyed an active lifestyle as well, so snowboarding and skiing were right up his alley.   He got a chance to enjoy these past times as well as many others (like playing his guitar with friends around a fire on the beach), during his time in this country.  One experience he will never forget is when all of the exchange students in Quebec met together for a weekend.....It worked, as all 20+ students became accustomed to the French language, confidently communicating with one another, trading home country pins, and bonding over shared experiences as foreign exchange students.

 

The word that Conrad used to describe his experience, is "ameliorate", which is an English cognate of the French word for "making things better".   Conrad came away from this experience enriched and a whole new "man"....It was a self-described "pivotal" time of his life, and he was made better for it.  In fact, this experience had long-lasting effects regarding his approach to life in general afterward.   

 

Fast forward to now and my friend, Conrad Folkes is very successful in the academic arena....He is one of the Assistant Principals at the Reading Central Middle School in the Reading School District.  He lives in Limerick Township with his beautiful wife, Catarina (a real estate agent and ex-pat from Portugal herself), and three great kids,    Rotary makes a difference in lives. who have already developed a deep love for traveling in order to get a better understanding of the world in which we all live!   What do you expect when you have parents who met in Australia though, right??   Rotary makes a difference in lives...I just needed to share this story with you.   It was inspiring to me.