AM Rotary Club member, Jacob Stonesifer, will speak about what the boy scout troop has been working on. He will also honor the new eagle scouts. 

Our May 7 meeting was held at Eden Prairie High School and devoted to celebrating another successful year of mentoring EPHS students through the longtime STRIVE program.

 

In STRIVE, Rotarians from the A.M. and Noon clubs – as well as other community members – are each matched with an EPHS junior or senior, and meet every few weeks during the school year to discuss school performance and make plans for post-secondary life, including college.

 

Superintendent of Schools Josh Swanson welcomed students, mentors, and other A.M. Rotarians, and had some advice for students participating in the program: stay connected with your mentor; find new mentors as you continue through life; and mentor other people.

 

Much of the rest of the celebration had mentors and their students offering testimonials to the program’s good work. “This girl is going to do big things in life,” Judy Orrock said about her mentee, who is headed to Winona State University to study psychology.

 

Added mentor Elaine Larabee about her five years involved in the program: “It has changed my life, in ways I never expected.”

 

Students were equally effusive, and encouraged more mentors to step forward. Said one: “It’s awesome to have someone invested in you!”

 

For more information about STRIVE, contact Elaine Larabee or school staffer Lisa Wood, who heads up the mentorship program.

 

 

Jane McGinty began our program by sharing some information on Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE). A former RYE student who went to Germany for a year, Jane highlighted the international and local impact of RYE. Jane also gave a shout out to Dennis Kim who started the New Generation exchange with young adults from South Korea.

 

Rotary student exchanges started when European students began studying in different host countries in 1927. The Official RYE program commenced in 1972, and 8,000 students worldwide now travel each year through this exciting and educational program. The Eden Prairie Rotary has sponsored 73 students in RYE since 1978—38 incoming students and 35 outgoing. Currently, our outgoing student is Anya Falk (daughter of EP Noon Rotarian, Bill Falk) and she is living with a host family in Belgium. The club enjoyed a video of Anya being interviewed by our own John Crudele about her experience in Belgium. Anya has taken a gap year after her high school graduation to be a Rotary Youth Exchange participant. She said she has really grown and learned from trying something she was afraid to do, and was grateful to Rotary for the experience.