Rotary opens doors for youngsters

For many young people, Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) will be the first time they have travelled abroad on their own. The experience will be a learning curve; igniting their desire to travel, to learn about people and different cultures. Rotary provides a support network whilst they gain their independence.

Members of Peterborough Ortons Rotary, joined by two Rotarians from Reno, listened to Sarah Mason BSc (Hons), BVetMed MRCVS, recount her experiences when taking part on two different types of RYE programmes.

Sarah was a student at Kings School when Rotarian Colin Yarwood visited to talk about RYE. Little did she realise this day was to change her life. Applying for a place on the Short-Term Youth Exchange Program (STEP) took her to Moline in Illinois. Andrea, her exchange partner, flew to England to stay with Sarah’s family for three weeks then the two girls flew to America together to stay with Andrea’s family. This “wonderful holiday” whetted Sarah’s appetite so the following year she applied for a New Generation Exchange (NGE).

Still living with the partner’s family, an NGE is work experience with no cross over. Flying solo, Sarah arrived in Quincy, California, for a six-week apprenticeship at Feather River, an agricultural college specialising in horses and cattle – hard work but a lot of fun. Her hosts, the Williams family, knew several local vets enhancing her exposure to this line of work. During free time the family took Sarah to visit Lake Tahoe and theme parks. Sarah was invited to attend the local Rotary club.

Later, her exchange partner, Marianne, came to Peterborough to study journalism, visit London and experience life on the family narrow boat at weekends.

Neither exchange proceeded entirely smoothly. Flying to the US the first time, Sarah arrived to find her suitcase was back in England!

Returning from her NGE involved three flights – Reno to Phoenix, onwards to Charlotte then home to England. Young Sarah, tired, having been awake for 23 hours, emotional leaving her host family and anxious for a cuddle from mum arrived at Charlotte to find her flight cancelled. A chap in the queue took her to a local hotel and vouched for her. A quick call to Colin and local Rotarians swung into action to sort out all the problems.

Leaving school, Sarah was motivated to sign-up for a fouryear course in veterinary nursing at Middlesex University. Gaining a first class honours degree, she realised her future was to be a veterinary surgeon so enrolled at the Royal Veterinary College for a further four years.

Now, aged 28 years, Sarah works for Tower Equine in Lincolnshire as a veterinary surgeon, specialising in horses. Sarah said: “Had Colin not turned up at Kings that day I might not be in this job. Rotary opens doors giving young people chance to try a profession before embarking on that line of study.”