With the new school year approaching, high school students from around the world are preparing for a year of study abroad through various government-sanctioned exchange programs.

One of the top ranked exchange student programs is the Rotary Youth Exchange. It is active in Fountain Hills.

Interested students who will be between 15 and 18-and-a-half during the year they want to exchange must complete an application and submit it to their local Rotary Club. An interview is conducted, and the Rotary Club determines if they would like to sponsor an “outbound” student to attend a public school in a foreign country.

The parent Rotary District communicates with other participating Rotary districts around the world and determines which clubs will exchange students. The Rotary exchange program is the most affordable in existence due to volunteer efforts by individual clubs.

Once a two-way exchange is established, the Rotary clubs search for multiple host families to share in the hosting of the inbound exchange student. The goal of the local Rotary club is to locate three ideal host families within the school district boundaries of the local high school. Each host family commits to providing room and board to the inbound student for approximately 3-and-a-half months.

This past school year, FHHS student Charlotte Tornee spent a “year of a lifetime” studying in Brazil while several local families shared in the hosting of a boy from Spain and a girl from Belgium. Other Arizona outbound students spent their school year in such countries as Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands and The Czech Republic. More than 70 countries participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

Knowing the host language helps the student integrate into the new culture more quickly, but most countries hosting American students do not require language proficiency upon arrival.

The primary goal of the Rotary exchange program is for students to learn a second language and immerse themselves in a new culture in an effort to build better understanding and peace between nations. Rotary is currently looking for potential outbound students as well as local families who may be interested in hosting an inbound foreign student.

This year both Fountain Hills Rotary clubs are sponsoring an Arizona boy to Japan and hosting an inbound boy from Japan who will attend Fountain Hills High School.

To learn more about the Rotary Youth Exchange program e-mail Rotary Youth Exchange Chairman Bill Beamish at rye5510@gmail.com, or text him at 480-390-4130.