FRIDEGER TO BE FIRST-EVER EXCHANGE
STUDENT FROM LOCAL ROTARY CLUB
Shelby Frideger of New Bremen will be the first-ever
outbound student from the New Bremen-New Knoxville Rotary Club to
participate in the Rotary
Youth Exchange program.
Shelby will be leaving New Bremen at the end of August
for a 10-month stay in Kosice,
Slovakia. Kosice is a city of 235,000 and is the second-largest
city in Slovakia,
once part of the country of Czechoslovakia.
Shelby has been in touch with her host family (Renata Magicova) and is actively making
preparations for her trip.
"I've already been on a mission trip to Belize
and spent time on a Navajo reservation," Shelby explained. "I'm
looking forward to experiencing more of the world and the cultural learning
that's out there. It's very eye-opening to be exposed to cultures
different than here."
Shelby is the 17-year-old daughter of Bev and Todd
Frideger of New Bremen, and worked to complete her graduation requirements
at New
Bremen High School by the end of her junior year. She
participated in graduation exercises as a member of the Class of 2010 during
commencement last month, since her exchange program in Slovakia will
continue through July 2010.
Shelby recently attended the Rotary World Community
Workshop in Defiance and spent time together with other Rotary exchange
students, both inbound and outbound. She mentioned that getting
together with other exchange students has helped to alleviate some of the
anxiety and questions about her upcoming program.
"I now have best friends all over the
world," Shelby noted.
The local Rotary Club is sponsoring Shelby for her year
abroad, and also contributed Tuesday's "Bullet Fund" toward her
preparation and travel expenses. Plans are also being made to set
up videoconferencing opportunities during her year in Slovakia so that she
can talk with the local club during some weekly meetings next year.
Hosting Rotarian: Doc
Luedeke
