This Friday, 16 year old Agnes Westlund from Sweden will touch down at Albury Airport to begin her year as a Rotary Exchange Student, living in Albury and experiencing life in Australia. Agnes will be met at the airport by members of the Rotary Club of Albury Hume (RCAH) and her host parents for the year.

Agnes comes from Trosa in Sweden, located on the Swedish coast less than an hour’s drive south of Stockholm. Trosa is an idyllic town with beautiful, centuries-old wooden houses, cafes and public buildings built by master craftsmen. It is a favourite place for summer holidays in Sweden.

Justin Clancy, President of RCAH, says ‘Our club is really looking forward to welcoming Agnes to Albury and to our community. Our club regularly hosts inbound and outbound exchange students. Currently we are sponsoring Xavier High School’s James Richardson on his exchange in Germany, and in the last few years have hosted students from France and Japan.’

Rotary Youth Exchange provides a wonderful opportunity for young people aged between 15 and 18 to live and study abroad for a year. Students develop in many ways over their exchange year; they enjoy a new culture and enjoy a new way of living, often learn a new language, learn a great deal about themselves and gain confidence and self-sufficiency.

Rod Bramich, Student Exchange Coordinator with RCAH, says ‘As a club we enjoy immensely hosting exchange students. They attend our weekly meetings and get involved with our community activities, as well as living with their host parents. Agnes will live with four host families while in Albury for about three months with each family, and attend Albury High School.’

A central part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program is to promote world understanding and peace. RCAH member Graeme Maddox has served many years on the Rotary District 9790’s Youth Committee and says ‘The exchange students bring with them tremendous friendship, enthusiasm and warmth and are great ambassadors for their countries. We hope that Agnes quickly feels right at home here and are looking forward to a great year with her.’

Agnes will be coming from southern Sweden’s temperate summer, where currently the days are around 20 degrees, and there are 19 hours of daylight every day. While the daylight hours will be halved and the temperatures will be somewhat chillier here, we hope Agnes will experience the warmth of the Albury Wodonga community and make some wonderful friends during her exchange year.