HOULTON, Maine — The Rotary Club of Houlton raises money each year through its Bingo event to send two high school students on an international exchange to experience a people, culture and life that they might not otherwise be able to see.
As an exchange program, the student of the host family also spends time in Houlton viewing the sites that Aroostook County and New England have to offer.
On Monday, Jamie Brown presented information to the Houlton Rotary on her trip to Sicily, Italy. Brown, daughter of Jim and Kristy Brown, graduated from Houlton High School and is currently a student at Bowdoin College. On her exchange trip, Brown traveled around Sicily for two weeks with her host family and saw castles, monasteries, the coast and more in Syracuse, Agrigento and Taormina. She tried some international foods and said a highlight was watching a play on “Dante’s Inferno” at the site where it was written.
Rylee Faulkner presented on her trip to Rastede in Northern Germany. She is a senior at Houlton Middle-High School and is the daughter of Marlon and Andrea Faulkner of Monticello. Faulkner showed pictures of her trip to a horse festival, a city tour of Bremen, and a day trip to the Netherlands. She said a highlight was taking a horse and carriage over the sand at low tide to an island off the Northern Germany coast.
Both Brown and Faulkner hosted their respective exchange students here in the County. Both attended a rotary meeting earlier in the year while they toured Maine. While in the U.S. they enjoyed hiking, white-water rafting, fishing, spending time at the lake, and attended a Boston Red Sox game.
The 2020 Rotary Exchange students have recently been selected and were introduced at the Monday meeting. Quinn White, a junior, is interested in an exchange to Italy, Sweden or Germany. Alyssa Abbotoni, a senior at Houlton High School, is looking into an exchange in Finland, Norway or Denmark.
Every rotary exchange student has said their trips were pivotal, exposing them to a different culture, but also clarifying what they appreciate about home. The Houlton Rotary Club thanks the community for attending the Bingo event each April, which makes these exchange trips possible.
