June was a busy month for Owen Moon, a District 7910 Youth Exchange Student sponsored by the Weston-Wayland Rotary Club. On June 2nd, he arrived home after spending the 2023-24 academic year living and attending school in Taiwan. On June 7th, he graduated from Weston High School. It all started when Owen, now 18, did a short-term summer exchange to Spain in 2022. That exchange led to a desire to see Asia -- an area of the world he's been fascinated with since childhood. He speaks Mandarin, has many international friends, and is more aware of cultures outside the United States.Photo: Owen Moon, Kathleen Baker, and Hsinchu Peace Rotary Club President, Hsieh "Seven" Cheng-Wen at a Rotary meeting. April 2024.
During Owen's exchange year, he attended high school at the National Hsinchu Commercial & Vocational School, lived with Taiwanese host families, took Mandarin lessons at a nearby university, explored the beautiful island of Taiwan, took classes in "anime" drawing, and did many presentations (in Mandarin) to Rotary Clubs and school classrooms about life in the United States and Weston, Massachusetts. He was a Rotary youth ambassador for cultural awareness and understanding.
In April, Owen's mother, Kathleen Baker, a language arts teacher at Weston High School, visited Owen and met many of the Rotarians and host family members who supported him during his exchange. Owen's hosting club was the Hsinchu Peace Rotary Club. Hsinchu City is about an hour away by train from Taipei, Taiwan's capital. Kathleen and Owen were invited to attend a Rotary meeting while Kathleen was visiting.
Owen had a truly transformational year as an exchange student. In August, he will attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he plans to continue his study of Mandarin.
If your club is interested in having Owen come and speak about his experience in Taiwan and the importance of Rotary youth exchange, please reach out to either Jeanne Reimonn, Outbound Student Coordinator, at reimonnj@gmail.com or Jane Schroeder, District Youth Exchange Chair, at jane.schroeder@comcast.net. Rotary Youth Exchange is a wonderful program. We hope more Rotary clubs and students take advantage of the opportunity to participate.
Owen had a truly transformational year as an exchange student. In August, he will attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he plans to continue his study of Mandarin.If your club is interested in having Owen come and speak about his experience in Taiwan and the importance of Rotary youth exchange, please reach out to either Jeanne Reimonn, Outbound Student Coordinator, at reimonnj@gmail.com or Jane Schroeder, District Youth Exchange Chair, at jane.schroeder@comcast.net. Rotary Youth Exchange is a wonderful program. We hope more Rotary clubs and students take advantage of the opportunity to participate.
For more information about Rotary Youth Exchange, see: https://rotary7910.org/
Photo: (L) Owen is greeted by his host brother; (R) Kathleen visits Owen's high school class at National Hsinchu Commercial & Vocational High School, Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
