We heard from Regina Werum of Lincoln 14 Rotary about Rotary Youth Exchange on October 10, 2025 at Lincoln South Rotary Club.
Regina shared stories and updates about the students that traveled to Nebraska and the Nebraska students that traveled to other countries.
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is an exchange program for high school students. Students travel to other countries to learn about the culture and the language as well as act as a cultural ambassador for their own country. The program is certified by the North American Youth Exchange Network as well as the U.S. Department of State.
2024-25 Students that came to District 5650 - left to right
Mateo Campero (right) - Bolivia
Margo Ponomarenko (center) - Ukraine
Alba Duarte (front) - Spain
Margo Ponomarenko (center) - Ukraine
Alba Duarte (front) - Spain
Students from District 5650 and 5630 gather in Ogallala
Regina stated that if a student is interested in the program for next school year, now is the time to get apply. Time is needed to review applications, select participants, set up the international matches, etc. before the actual exchange.
She introduced some of the 2025-26 students:
Emma Lorca Huber from Spain is attending Lincoln High.
Oleksandra (Sasha) Fuke from Ukraine is attending Lincoln High.
Savannah Gallagher from Orchard (NE) is going to Spain.
Yama Njie from Omaha (NE) is going to Japan.
Oleksandra (Sasha) Fuke from Ukraine is attending Lincoln High.
Savannah Gallagher from Orchard (NE) is going to Spain.
Yama Njie from Omaha (NE) is going to Japan.
She also stated that with the recent challenges with obtaining VISAs into the United States, some students had to delay their school start dates which put them behind and shortened their experience.
Exchanges are usually two-way - we send a student to a country and that country sends a student to us. However, there have been some one-way exchanges such as with a recent student from Ukraine.
Ideally the student stays with 2 host families - maybe 3. The school is generally determined based on the location of the first family. Having 2 host families allows them to change at semester. Rarely do they leave a student with only one family. Part of the goal of the program is to ensure the student gets a well-rounded experience - so seeing how different families live is better for the program.
Youth Exchange Goals:
- Provides young people with the opportunity to experience cultures other than their own
- Gives participants a broader view of the world and a deeper understanding of themselves
- Develops leadership and communication skills in youth
- Advances international understanding and world peace
- Youth Exchange is about more than just the student.
Some of the Benefits
- Develop fluency in another language
- Develop lifelong leadership skills
- Students learn about themselves, become more independent, confident
- Build lasting friendships
- Explore the world
- Become a global citizen - learn to understand other cultures
Other Information about the program:
- 10-month program (August – June)
- Total cost: $5,500 - we know that this is less expensive than other programs
- Includes room & board, airfare, health insurance, monthly stipend
- Applications accepted till December
- Selection process in Winter
The general timeline fro District 5650 program (dates vary annually):
- Sept through early November: submit applications
- Early December (Lincoln): District interviews of students and their parents.
- Mid December: Decision letters sent out.
- Early January: Application fee due and start working on Long Term Application
- Mid February: Orientation of outbound students and their parents. Nebraska Youth Camp, Kearney
- June (Date TBD: Outbound Camp in Tulsa, Oklahoma (transportation provided)
- Mid July: Final gathering of outbound students
- August – Early September: Students depart.
You can keep up with the latest Youth Exchange news by reading the District 5650 newsletter articles. Click here for the latest article written by RYE Chair Bob Rauner.
BIO
Regina Werum has been a Lincolnite since 2013 and a member of Rotary 14 since 2014. She currently serves on its board of directors and has been the Rotary Youth Exchange Officer for quite some time. In that capacity, she is responsible for supervising and mentoring inbound and outbound students, recruiting and training students and host parents, organizing local events involving Rotarians and exchange students, and occasionally driving all over the state with a big van full of kids.
When this doesn't keep her busy enough, she tries to make sure that Nebraska taxpayers get a decent day's work out of her at the University of Nebraska, where she currently serves as professor of Sociology. Her substantive areas of expertise include the causes and consequences of social inequality, especially the role education and educational systems play in this process. Her mostly quantitative research typically revolves around conditions in the United States, though her research has also focused on countries in Europe and the Caribbean. Her second substantive area of expertise revolves around the causes and consequences of social movements and protests. This is a phenomenon she has examined globally. Her research on both broad topics has been extensively funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as the Department of Defense, in addition to private foundations. Dr. Werum earned her PhD at Indiana University, Bloomington, and her undergraduate degree at Hope College (Holland, MI).
Ohh and then there is the fact that she and her husband Martin are proud parents of a recent Lincoln High graduate, who's just started college at UNL a couple of weeks ago. Go Links!