Meet Our Exchange Students
Name: Derrick
Exchanges: Troisdorf, Germany (STEP; Summer 2009); Taipei, Taiwan (LTE; 2010-11)
How exchange changed my life: From a young age I knew I wanted to travel abroad, meet new people, and learn new languages. In the summer of 2009, my dream was realized when I selected as Short-Term Exchange Program (STEP) participant to Troisdorf, Germany, a small village in between Köln and Bonn. Having studied German in high school and receiving the highest marks, I thought I was fluent! When I stepped off the plane, I realized very quickly I was not. This experience taught me humility and that every day is an opportunity to learn something new.
After graduating high school, I decided to take a GAP year through the Long-Term Exchange (LTE) program and was selected to live in Taipei, Taiwan, the capital of this incredibly unique island nation. Having never traveled to Asia before and having never studied Chinese prior to my departure, my first few months were like drinking from a fire hydrant—taking large amounts of new and different information in all at once. Through my time in Taiwan, I not only learned Chinese, but the unique culture and situation of the Taiwanese people. This experience taught me diplomacy in the face of adversity and the realization that not every human being is afforded the same rights and freedoms that we take for granted here in the United States.
Today, I’m proud to work for the U.S. federal government, informed and changed by my experiences through Rotary Youth Exchange to ensure the world we live in is a safe, clean, and prosperous one.
