Rotary Youth Exchange

A successful Youth Exchange experience involves Rotary, a student, and parents, all working together toward the goal of making the student's exchange a worthwhile experience. Below we have included information on Rotary Youth Exchange for our Inbound and Outbound students, prospective student participants, and their parents. 
 
Page Stories
Welcome to the USA - RYE student Saanvi Jaiswal

The Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton is proud to host and welcome Saanvi Jaiswal to the United States through the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program.

Saanvi is from Nagpur, India (Rotary District 3030). After a 19-hour flight, she landed in Chicago on August 31st safely and will be attending Cedarburg High School during the 2025–26 school year. Saanvi’s first host family will be Rotarian Cindy Petted and her husband, Brian. After the conclusion of her first semester, she will transition to a second host family, further enriching her experience and cultural exchange while in the United States. During her exchange year, Saanvi also plans to attend the World Affairs Seminar (WAS) in June, an opportunity that aligns with Rotary’s commitment to global understanding and peace.

Please join us in extending a warm Rotary welcome to Saanvi as she begins her year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student and a true Person of Action. 

Pictured: Saanvi at the CHS welcome sign on her first day at school. Also, at O'Hare Airport just outside customs with Brian and Cindy Petted. Photo Credit: Cindy Petted
 
Outbound Rotary Exchange Student Thea Frank
Speaker via Zoom: Thea Frank - Outgoing Rotary Exchange Student
This photo is from the meeting before Thea left.
 
A Cedarburg High School student, Paul Radtke introduced Thea Frank on Zoom. Thea updated the club that she’s looking forward to a lot of traveling coming up in January, touring the northeast part of Brazil. Her favorite part of recent trips is meeting other Rotary exchange students from around the world. Other comments were...
  • Paul asked what the biggest cultural difference is – Thea said the people in Brazil are very outgoing and friendly.
  • Layton asked about her Portuguese – Thea says it’s a lot harder than Spanish!
  • Dan about a typical meal – Thea lives in the south of Brazil and she enjoys their BBQ – but she’s in an Italian area so she also enjoys a lot of traditional Italian cuisine.
  • Thea has connected with Bruna Finitti (an inbound student for Cedarburg's 2015-2016 school year). They enjoy chatting with each other!
  • Thea only talks to her family at home in an emergency – part of her time as an exchange student is to become engrained in the culture and have that true experience of being in the culture.
  • Thea attends school only in the AM there – it’s a lot more relaxed and without so much pressure. Testing is completed to determine college placement, kind of like the ACT. But there isn’t as big of a push for perfect grades.
  • And, when the World Cup is on, the whole community bands together to watch – it’s a great experience!
Thea made a video of her experiences so far. Click on the link below to view it.
See Thea's adventures (Summer - Nov 2022)
 
Inbound Students Bruna Finatti ... and her dad! 
Former exchange student, Bruna Finatti, joined us today (Oct 20, 2020) from Campinas, Brazil via Zoom.
She stayed with Ryan & Megan Olsen and Nial & Karen Peterson during the 2015-2016 school year.
 
Her dad joined in too. He was ALSO a Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton exchange student and stayed with the Seversons in 1987-1988. You'll notice he's sporting his Cedarburg Bulldog shirt.
Inbound Student Dirk Meyer
In 1998, Dirk spent time in Cedarburg as a Rotary Exchange Student. Living with Chimmy's (Bob Chim family part of the time and Nial Peterson's family the other. Today (Jan 28, 2021) Dirk is quite accomplished and joins us to share his life (and family) since his Rotary exchange so many years ago.
 
Watch the presentation with Dirk Meyer (30 min)
 
Alaina Eckert - Rotary International's Global Scholars Program 
On Jan 6, 2022 Alaina Eckert joined the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton using Zoom. She talked about her experiences with regard to being a Global Scholar Grant receipent.  Alaina is a Wisconsin native and a graduate of Sussex High School. She continued at UW-Madison completing her Master's Degree in International Nature Conservation.  She also studied in Germany and New Zealand before receiving the Global Grant. Her long-time goal is to be a Professor of freshwater or conservation studies. 
 
Click below to listen to Alaina's interesting experiences.
Alaina'a presentation (23 min)
 
Inbound Program
International students, between the ages of 15-1/2 - 18-1/2 years old, are hosted by District 6270 Rotary Clubs (the Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton is one of 59 District 6270 Clubs located in SE Wisconsin).  Students live with one to three host families during the exchange year.
 
Outbound Program
District 6270 is a member of the Central States Rotary Youth Exchange, which is able to sponsor student exchanges to 43 countries.  The exchange is one of the least expensive programs available. Students spend approximately 10 1/2 months in a host country, with an average of three host families.  Each exchange must be sponsored by a District 6270 Rotary Club and is hosted by a receiving Rotary Club in another country. 
 
Summer Program
The Rotary Summer Program is a one-for-one exchange from one to six weeks, determined by the families. A Rotary sponsor club is required. This program is for students aged 15-19. There is a $250 application fee. The Mutual Exchange usually runs for 3-4 weeks during June, July or August (southern hemisphere countries may send student in January). 
 
Club Sponsor
The Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton has a strong history of being a Rotary Club Sponsor for incoming and outgoing students.
 
Club Host Family
Who can host incoming students? Families from our Club or those living in the Cedarburg or Grafton School Districts. 

Rules and Conditions
Rules and conditions were developed to ensure a safe and positive experience for Inbound and Outbound students, prospective student participants, and their parents. 
 
Youth Protection
It is the duty of all Rotarians, Rotarian's spouses, partners, and any other volunteers to safeguard the welfare of children and young people with whom they come into contact.  Read more under our District's Youth Protection Policies.  
 
More Information
Contact us for more information on the  Inbound, Outbound, and Summer Programs.