Our Club helped sponsor Eva Pan as a Rotary Inbound Exchange student from Taiwan. On June 1, she gave her final presentation to our Club (image below). She departed Illinois on June 27 for trip home to Taiwan.
June 1 was a special day for our Club as she shared with us her experiences, accomplishments, and observations in Springfield and America during the past year. She participated in our 50-50 drawing, and followed our long-standing tradition of drawing the wrong card with a smile (image on left). We celebrated the occasion with cake (first image below) and flag exchanges (second image below).
Eva noted she was away from home a long time, but the time went by fast and her experiences and accomplishments were many. They included finishing two semesters of high school, playing in 6 concerts, performing violin solos, including one at our holiday party (image on left), attending homecoming and Prom (image below), visiting 13 cities, and carving her first pumpkin.
As impressive Eva’s numerous experiences and accomplishments are, what is truly striking is her observations and reflections on what she learned about herself and how she grew during her time in Springfield. She evolved through:
• Developing a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Taiwan as she frequently represented her country and shared its culture with others.
• Discovering how much she valued home, family, and friends through the experience of homesickness.
• Building confidence, trusting herself more, and becoming more willing to speak up, participate, and embrace new opportunities.
• Letting go of unnecessary worries and realizing she does not need to have every detail figured out before taking the next step.
• Strengthening her English skills to the point that she now thinks in English more than she did in Taiwan.
Our Club appreciates its time and interaction with Eva. She wowed us with her expressive artistry on the violin, impressed us with her excellent mastery of English, and we couldn’t help but take notice of personal growth and mature attitudes. Her participation in club meetings and activities made her a welcome presence within our Club.
We are confident that Eva will succeed in cultivating her interest in economics and navigating her questions about society’s future. We wish her the very best! Her time with us went by quickly, and on June 27, we took her to the airport for her return trip home.
#Rotary #RotaryYouthExchange #CulturalExchange #YouthLeadership #GlobalCitizenship #ServiceAboveSelf