About the Jacksonville Rotary Club Youth Exchange

Rotary Youth Exchange is one of the most popular programs of The Rotary Club of Jacksonville. Our club has hosted at least one foreign exchange student in Jacksonville per year, for over 25 years.

Each high-school aged foreign exchange student spends a year in Jacksonville. The student lives with three host families to get a flavor of different types of family life in the United States. The student attends Jacksonville High School and participates in extra curricular activities such as sports and clubs, as well as weekend trips and local activities with their host families.

Host families are an essential piece of the exchange student puzzle. Being a host family is one of the most rewarding experiences your family can have. Welcoming a student into your home and your heart can shape how your children – and you – see the world. Most host families don’t just host once. Many host year after year, which is a testament to the rich experience of having a new family member in their home.

There is no perfect host family. Because the student stays with three host families, it is good for them to get an idea of how a family with young children, older children or no children, lives. Empty-nesters are often great hosts, as are single-parent homes. And one great part about a Rotary Exchange student is that the local coordinator lives right here in Jacksonville and helps with transportation and other logisitcs. Host families are well-supported with training and a club of Rotarians who support the student.

People often talk about world peace and making the world a smaller place. There is no better way to do this than on a personal level, right in your home. Once you’ve had a student from another country live with you for four months, that country is no longer is a place “over there,” and instead becomes a place where a new member of your family lives. The world will never look the same after you have hosted a student from another country.

Another facet of Rotary Youth Exchange is the opportunity our local American students have to spend a year abroad. Most exchange students take a gap year between high school and college when they go on exchange. They describe it as the best year of their lives. Because the program is completely run by volunteers, the cost is manageable and some scholarships are available. This program is open to students 16-18.5 years old and in the top half of their class.