Murrumburrah High student, Hayley Chesworth has been accepted into the Rotary Exchange Student program for 2020 and will spend 12 months in either Canada or the United States of America.
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"I am so grateful and excited!" Ms Chesworth said. "When I first applied, I didn't really know much about the Rotary Student Exchange Program, only what I had seen in movies and on TV. But the more I looked into it, the more I wanted to be involved."
Harden Murrumburrah Rotary President, Pat O'Connor said the Rotary Student Exchange Program has been running for about 40 years and offers young people the opportunity to live and study in one of the recipient countries across Europe, USA and Canada.
"In the last 10 years, we have had two amazing students visit our community." Mr O'Connor said.
"We had a young lady named Vicki from Germany and more recently, we had Ludvig (Louis) Bredsgaard from Denmark. They were both remarkable young people, who very quickly became part of our community."
There have been opportunities for our own young people to take part in the program; Jess Sargent spent 12 months in Germany, and her sister Nikki went to Belgium.
Successful applicants live with a host family, often experiencing a different culture, education system and, in some instances, another language, all while being separated from their families.
"We have recently undergone a Rotary District change, combining the Central West/ Riverina District with the Canberra/South Coast District, which meant Hayley had to vie with more applicants from a much bigger area." Mr O'Connor said. "We are so grateful that Hayley applied for the program. It is such an opportunity for any young person, but especially one from a small community like ours."
Ms Chesworth has been told she will be be heading to either Maine, in the northern states of the USA, or to the French Quarter in Canada.
"I want to thank Rotary for this opportunity, and my exceptionally supportive parents,who have been behind me every step of the way." Ms Chesworth said.