PCS senior accepted into Rotary Exchange Program

Jordan Mireles, a senior at Perkins County Schools, was recently accepted into the Rotary Exchange Program and will spend a year studying overseas.

Mireles first learned of the program when he was at Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).

“They had a speaker come and talk to us about it and I realized this could be an opportunity to explore other parts of this vast world,” Mireles said.

He dove into the application process, of which the first step was a preliminary application that required two letters of recommendation, one reference and the sponsorship of the applicant’s local Rotary Club.

After the preliminary application, he had to go attend District interviews in North Platte, where they talked about insurance and rules surrounding the exchange.

Next, Mireles said he had to go through two interviews and give a speech. The purpose of the interviews, he noted, were to get to know the applicants and how they solve problems while also letting the Rotarians get a view of an applicant’s character.

Mireles learned he had been accepted into the program Sunday, Nov. 21, the same day he would take the stage as the Fairy Godmother in the local performance of this year’s one act play.

One act coach Nicole Long took the stage before the show and shared the news with community members in attendance.

“When I found out that I’d been accepted I was super excited,” Mireles said, adding his parents shared his feelings when he called to share the good news with them. “The feeling I had when I realized I’m going to study and live in another country is hard to explain, but I was excited and anxious at the same time.”

Mireles has yet to learn where exactly he will be studying abroad, but regardless of his destination he said he hopes to make the most out of the experience.

Students in the exchange program, he explained, are not guaranteed any particular country. They are given a list of countries and are to select ten of them, ranking them from one to 10 where one is the top selection.

Mireles’ top three picks were Israel, Portugal and Switzerland becasue he has an interest in the history and ruins in those regions of the world.

During the district interviews, he said it was noted on by the interviewers that while he is fluent in Spanish, he didn’t select a Spanish-speaking country.

“I told them I think learning a new language and culture is a huge part of the experience, and that going at all would be useless if I already knew the culture and language,” Mireles said. “I’d be missing out on a huge part of the Rotary Youth Exchange.”

Though he doesn’t have a definite exchange location yet, he said he’s excited to experience a whole new culture and learn a new language, and he can’t wait to see how life in a new environment differs from the environment he is familiar with.

A definite departure date also has yet to be determined, but Mireles believes it will be sometime in June, as the year in Rotary International begins and ends with June each year.

“I’m hoping this entire experience will change me and allow me to grow for the better,” he said. “The opportunity of becoming a Rotary Exchange Student will open a lot of new opportunities that I hope to take.”

He added he hopes that in being able to take this opportunity he can be a good representative of the local community, the state and the country.

Mireles said he wants to thank the Grant Rotary Club for helping him and sponsoring him for this, and he hopes others in Perkins County take the opportunity to become Rotary Exchange Students.