By Bill Petterson, Marie Owens, and Jim Dunn
This past year, our Rotary club had the privilege of hosting Raghav, an exchange student from Nagpur, India, as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Having him with us truly highlighted the global connections Rotary fosters, putting the "international" in Rotary International. Raghav brought fresh perspectives, shared his culture, and built lifelong friendships, leaving a lasting impact on everyone who met him. His time with us was a reminder of how the program unites people from different parts of the world, promoting understanding and peace.
The Rotary International Youth Exchange program boasts of being one of the best exchange programs around.
During the year Raghav was immersed in Wisconsin culture by attending Brookfield Central and participating in all student life including walking down the aisle for the graduation ceremony at the end of the year.
As a Rotary exchange student, he was expected to be an “ambassador” of India. This was a role he truly embraced. He was also expected to be a junior Rotarian, attend our weekly 7:00 meetings and give a brief update on what’s happening in Raghav’s life and participate in our Rotarian activities. The 7:00 am weekly meetings were not one of his favorite things, but it served to foster many relationships with our entire club. He did enjoy participating in many activities such as cleaning up the highway, carrying the banner in our 4th of July parade or attending our progressive dinner to name a few. In these events he did shine as not only an ambassador of India but also an ambassador of Rotary.
One of the cornerstones of the exchange program is gathering all the exchange students in our district together several times throughout the year. Through these events the students can create relationships with exchange students from all over the world, so it becomes a great international experience for them.
While the experience was enriching for all involved, finding host families remains the most challenging aspect of the program. We hope that, with the community's support, we can ensure another student has the same valuable experience next year. Raghav is now back home in Nagpur, finishing school and exploring an exciting new business opportunity with a good friend. We anticipate staying in touch with him (as with
previous exchange students) and look forward to welcoming another student next year!
Thank you, Bill, Marie, Jim, host families and members who opened their homes and hearts to make this past year one of great memories for Raghav and all those who shared in his experience.
