In August, I make many trips to the Boise airport to greet Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) students arriving for a year in Idaho. As they walk through those last double doors at security and are greeted by District 5400 Rotarians and host families, I see in them a combination of excitement, fear and exhaustion. But I also see confidence and bravery. Five years ago, I saw that same look in my daughter’s face as we sent her to Belgium for a year. And I see that same look in our outbound student Morgan Parrott, who left recently for Austria on his RYE year. Who is Morgan?
The Eagle-Garden City Rotary Club is so honored to have this young man represent our club, district and country as a RYE student. Morgan is 17 years old and graduated from Renaissance High School. He became interested in being an exchange student back in the eighth grade when his friend Aamon gave a documentary-type presentation about the RYE program at school for National History Day. At the time, Aamon had a German exchange student living with his family, and from that point on, a spark was lit in Morgan.
Morgan has been curious about different cultures and places most of his life, influenced by his mother who has traveled to over 23 countries in her lifetime. In addition, Morgan’s older brother, Connor, had the same interest and was accepted into the RYE program in 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 thwarted his exchange.
While living in Linz, Austria, Morgan hopes to learn about the rich history of that country; visit the birthplaces of the country’s famous, classical music composers; explore the historical sites of WWII; and of course, indulge in one of Austria’s most famous dishes, Wiener schnitzel. He was given a tip that the best version of this dish can be enjoyed at a German-version of the store IKEA.
Morgan is one of 10 RYE outbound students from our district who will be beginning their year of adventure around the globe. Concurrently, we have welcomed inbound students this month from countries across Europe and South America who will live in Boise, McCall, Hailey, Idaho Falls and Pocatello. Each student is hosted by a local Rotary club, lives with two or three host families and attends a local high school. If you meet these young people through your club, introduce yourself, get to know them, learn about their culture and share with them a little bit about ours. This is what Rotary Youth Exchange is all about.
What is the Rotary Youth Exchange?
Rotary Youth Exchange was officially established in 1972 as a way to create mutual understanding and respect among people of different countries and to help spread world peace. Approximately 9,000 students travel to 80 different countries every year with Rotary. The RYE vision is to create a more interconnected and understanding world. When we take the time to understand and interact with people from different cultures, we are less likely to engage in conflict and more likely to respect each other and find ways to peacefully coexist. 
This program introduced me to Rotary five years ago. Joining a local club and volunteering as an inbound coordinator with the RYE program is my one small way to help local and visiting youth experience a year they will never forget and make lifelong connections. To learn more about applying to the Rotary Youth Exchange program or becoming a host family, check out the District 5400 RYE website. And spread the word about RYE to your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors so that more people can experience this life-changing opportunity,