Two weeks ago things were looking grim for our club’s plans, announced earlier this year, to sponsor an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student in 2016.
Despite contacting local schools, we still hadn’t found a candidate and, with only five days until the selection camp at Halls Gap, 2017 seemed more likely. After volunteering for the counselling role, I was feeling a little deflated – until Chris Sims called to advise he’d just received an application from a year 11 student at Surf Coast Secondary College: Liam Binyon.
As time was running out, we arranged to meet Liam and mum Kelly on Thursday afternoon, culminating in a decision to put Liam forward as the club’s 2016 candidate. Thirty-six hours later, I was up at 5.30 on Saturday morning to get to Halls Gap by 9.30am.
Spending nearly three hours in the car with Liam and Kelly provided an ideal opportunity for us to get to know each other on the way up.
Liam is 16 and has two older brothers, Callum and Patrick, and a younger sister, Emma. After playing AFL from a young age, he switched to soccer last year, joining the Surf Coast Football Club’s under 17 team. He is also a member of the Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club, volunteering for summer beach patrols, and works part-time at McDonald’s Torquay store.
His decision to apply was inspired by his parents, both former exchange students, albeit not through Rotary. Kelly works as an apprentice and trainee consultant with Victorian Group Training while dad Paul is a policeman.
A frosty fog greeted our arrival in Halls Gap, along with mobs of kangaroos and warm welcomes from the Youth Exchange Committee, District Governors current, elect and beyond, this year’s inbound group and several rebound students.
After being allocated into teams, Liam and his fellow candidates – 14 in all – started rotating through a series of activities focused on assessing their teamwork, problem-solving, communication and other necessary skills. The involvement of the inbound and outbound students also enabled them to hear firsthand about the youth exchange experience.
Through a series of briefing sessions, Kelly and I learned more about the program, and what it means for the students and their families, including the counsellor’s role. Again hearing from previous participants – parents and students – was invaluable to helping us both understand what to expect.
The Country Expo on the Saturday night proved a real highlight with the inbound and rebound students displaying what their respective countries offer in the way of culture, language, food and the like. This enabled the prospective outbound students to learn more about each country as the basis for determining their preferences.
Following a wander through France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Chile, Brazil, Canada, USA and Japan, I awarded best food to Brazil and biggest smiles to the three Danish students. It would seem however, that France may have done the best sell job on Liam and Kelly. Time will tell.
The three of us were pumped but exhausted on the trip home Sunday afternoon. We’re all looking forward to the next step, Liam’s interview in Ballarat on 13 June, and have everything crossed for a successful outcome.
In the meantime, club members will have an opportunity to meet Liam, Kelly and Paul at our meeting on 1 June. See you there.
