A Day Shared by ROTEX and Inbound Students
By: Janine O’Rourke
Rotary Club of Madison Youth Exchange Officer &
Rotary Club of Madison Youth Exchange Officer &
District 6250 Youth Exchange Inbound Chair
The newly established ROTEX group of District 6250, composed of Rotary Youth Exchange alumni, recently kicked off a fun day with Inbound Exchange Students on November 10th in downtown Madison.
Oscar Mullikin, Germany 2022-23 Rebound from Ashland, WI and current UW-Madison sophomore along with 4 other Wisconsin Rebounds hosted nine of the current Inbound students with a “State Street Scavenger Hunt,” lunch at Ian’s Pizza and cheering on the UW Badger Women to a 4th quarter comeback win over Georgetown.
This day offered an invaluable opportunity for ROTEX and Inbound students to build strong and meaningful connections.
Exchange students often face challenges such as isolation, communication barriers, and difficulty fitting in, which can be hard for others to grasp. This gathering allowed current inbound students a chance to connect with veterans of the experience who could fully relate. Mullikin reflected, “The one thing that I heard the most from the students was that they don't really care what they are doing as long as they are with one another. The connection between students that ROTEX can create is going to be invaluable in making our program stronger.”
To help us continue building a robust ROTEX community, we encourage you to connect any former Rotary exchange students residing in our district with group leader Mullikin at omullikin@wisc.edu. Together, we can strengthen this supportive network for current and future exchange students.
