The Rotary Youth Exchange program is said to build peace one young person at a time.
Chad Farran, a member of the Rotary Club of Palm Springs Sunup, shared his experience as an outbound Youth Exchange student with the Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead.
Farran was a sophomore in high school in a small town in Iowa. “I filled out the Youth Exchange application,” he said. “My guidance counselor told me, ‘You are not meant to be confined in a small town with closed minds.’”
He went to Northern France. Did he speak French? Not when he went but he learned while he was there.
“I wanted to feed a curiosity about the world,” Farran said. “It was amazing to see all the coordination that went on behind the scenes to make my exchange a reality.”
Now, as Rotary District 5330’s Youth Exchange chair, Farran is on a mission to encourage more clubs to accept inbound students and to send their own out into the world.
“The pandemic almost took the Youth Exchange out,” he told the local Rotarians. “It was very detrimental. We are recouping now. We need to jump on this chest and revive this program.”
He currently has four inbound students he is responsible for – something he calls a great start. “Our neighbors bring in 15 to 20. Our district has the geographical capacity for that many.”
As for outbound students, there have only been two applicants. “Look at how many students are enrolled in high school in San Bernardino and Riverside counties,” he said. District 5330 has 63 clubs, only three of which are currently participating in Youth Exchange. “It should be higher than that,” Farran said, “By the end of my three-year commitment, I hope to have 15 to 20 clubs involved.” Farran admitted that getting host families is challenging.
What does the Youth Exchange look like for a club? It can be a true exchange; for example, a local student could go to Germany while a German student comes here. Or it can be a one-way exchange; you don’t have to send one or receive one, Farran noted.
But the club and host family do is take on the responsibility of developing a future global citizen. “You send them back home as an ambassador of California,” Farran said.
He tells potential participants that the Youth Exchange is not a vacation. “Be prepared for culture shock,” he tells them. “It’s a big buffet of flavors. You’re not just visiting and touring. You’re living in another country.
“I believe in this program,” Farran said. “It changed my life and that’s not even touching it. It made me who I am as a human and as a Rotarian.”
The Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead answered the call and plans to host a student from Brazil. They are looking for host families. For more information on what is required and involved, contact the club at lakearrowheadrotary@gmail.com.
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