Evergreen Rotary

Join a Group Study Exchange Team

Speaking in last Friday’s club meeting, Rotary 5450 GSE Committee Chair Linda Kay Nedved informed Rotarians: “We’re going to have 2 exchanges again. One is with the district in China. It includes Shanghai, and it actually may include Beijing also. The other exchange is with a district in Mante, Mexico. The deadlines are coming up very quickly. We’re gonna have both teams for the outbound selected by the end of the summer.”

Team leader applications for the China exchange are due on June 30, with selection slated for July 12. Team member applicants should turn in their applications on July 7, and the constituents of the final team will be selected on July 19.

Meanwhile, those interested in leading a team to Mante, Mexico should submit their applications on or before June 21. Final selection for leadership is on July 2. Team member aspirants have a deadline of July 4, with selection scheduled for July 23.

“If you’re interested in either team leadership or team membership, or if you know somebody that’s between the age of 25 and 40 and maybe interested in being a team member (they can’t be a family member of a Rotarian), have them go to the district website,” Linda continued.

The GSE experience is one of the most rewarding in Rotary.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of The Rotary Foundation is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 and in the early years of their professional lives. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country’s institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

Who is eligible?

A GSE team consists of four non-Rotarian business or professional people and a Rotarian team leader. Applicants must:

• be between the ages of 25 & 40;
• be committed to remaining in the work force well after the exchange;
• be in the early stages of their careers or professions;
• reside in or be employed in the sending Rotary district and also be citizens of the country in which they reside;
• be proficient in the language of the country being visited;
• be personable, articulate, cooperative, exemplary in their work, and enthusiastic about their vocations; and
• seek to gain a maximum educational value from the program, as well as be able to fulfill the rigorous demands of international travel and active participation in an extensive itinerary.