Last week, we had the pleasure of hearing about outbound student Emily O'Day's year in Brazil as our RYE ambassador. And the very next day, Past President Rick was at the airport to greet Francesca, our inbound student from Italy!

Emily talked about her travels (including a trip on the Amazon where she gained a greater appreciation for taking care of our environment), about teaching English to Brazilians (including one of her host moms who need to pass an English requirement to get her literature degree) and about what she learned in her year in Brazil. She said, “the Rotary Youth Exchange program really changes lives. It offered me an opportunity to learn about cultures outside the US and gave me time to grow and learn more about myself. When asked about what she found most different, Emily said “people and relationships. People get together and spend hours talking and enjoying each other; they’re not as caught up in social media as we are. I came away from my experience determined than ever to spend more time getting to know and understand people and their perspectives.”

Let's all give a warm Dunwoody welcome to Francesca … and wish Daniella well as she heads to Korea as our outbound ambassador this Rotary year. We hope they will both have just as many stories and learnings to share at the end of this RYE year.

By the way, if you would like to support our efforts with Rotary Youth Exchange, contact Deb Cameron: dsc630@gmail.com or 404.668.1259.