The Rotary Club of Wilsonville is reactivating its Rotary Exchange program, and five students have been chosen to participate. Two Wilsonville students will travel abroad in the fall on full-year exchanges, two others will travel abroad this summer on short-term exchanges, and one Swiss student will be coming to Wilsonville for a year.
The two Wilsonville students going on full-year exchanges for their junior years are Elizabeth “Biz” Harms and Amanda Weatherly. Elizabeth will be traveling to Austria and Amanda will spend the year in Slovakia. Both young ladies will depart in mid–late August. Upon their return next year, they will be available for briefings and presentations regarding their year abroad experience.
The two Wilsonville students going on short term exchanges are Dawson Durig and Callan Kehoe. Dawson will depart in mid-June to spend the entire summer in Daireaux, Argentina, a small city several hundred miles southwest of Buenos Aeries. Since it is winter there, he will be going to school (as a visitor) with his host family brother Santiago “Santi” Berois. Dawson will return to Wilsonville the day before school starts here. His host brother, Santi, will be hosted by the Durig family for several months after the Christmas holidays while it is summer in Argentina.
Callan will leave soon for Elche, Spain, not far from Alicante. After six weeks with his host family in Spain, Callan will return to the Kehoe home with his Spanish host brother, Ruben, for a six week exchange visit here in the U.S.
The Rotary Club looks forward to seeing the two inbound short-term students at our luncheons during their time in the U.S.
For the 2016-17 school year, the Rotary Club of Wilsonville will host Anna Knill from near Schaffhausen, Switzerland. She will arrive on Sunday August 21 and attend Wilsonville High School for the year. Anna, 18, speaks fluent English, and is now graduating from her Swiss college prep secondary school. She has concentrated in the technical field with emphasis on chemistry and biology.
Anna will be here on a student visa, and it is anticipated that she will be taking Advanced Placement courses at WHS and, with her athletic ability in swimming, will hopefully make the varsity girls swim team.
Anna is being hosted for the first three months of her school year by Mark and Mary Stewart. The Rotary Club is looking for two additional host families to participate in the Rotary Exchange Program during the remainder of the school year. Those interested in hosting should contact Rotarian Jake McMichael at jakemcmichael@centurytel.net or 503-312-9596.