Rotary Exchange Student Heads Home after “Interesting” Year in America
The Henniker Rotary Club once again hosted an exchange student during the 2019-2020 academic school year.
Laura, a Slovakian teenager, arrived in Henniker in August 2019, after being selected by her local Rotary club to participate in Rotary International’s 80-year-old Youth Exchange program. Laura, along with more than 9,000 high school-aged Rotary Youth Exchange students from around the globe, agreed to live with American families, go to school, and be open to adventure in the US for a full year.
Three Henniker families hosted Laura this year which allowed her to attend John Stark Regional High School. As a junior, Laura’s education included Chemistry, Integrated Algebra/Geometry III, Biology, Environmental Studies, Human Biology and Spanish I. She shared that her favorite class was American Studies (a combined History and English Language Arts Class), because she learned so much about our culture and history. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus pandemic impacted Laura too. She was limited in her ability to travel but was able to continue her education via distance learning, while keeping up her excellent study habits and maintaining a high academic standard.
At the end of July, the Henniker Rotary Club said good bye to Laura with our best wishes for her continued academic success. Due to the pandemic, the Youth Exchange for 2020-2021 has been cancelled. Our club looks forward to hosting more students when the program is reinstituted.