Exchange of Ideas

Belgian student is studying at San Marcos High School through Rotary program

The Rotary Club, a national volunteer-led service organization with a local chapter, is sponsoring a foreign exchange student from Belgium this semester.

Paul Vanlaere made the long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and is officially a Rattler, attending San Marcos High School.

He is from Mouscron, Belgium–a city near the French border–which Vanlaere said is “pretty cool.”

Foreign exchange falls perfectly in line with the Rotary’s mission, which according to their website is to combat hunger, alleviate poverty, and promote health and education.

San Marcos Rotary Club President Peter Baen said that the local chapter of the club has been facilitating foreign exchange students for approximately 40 years–a service Vanlaere said he is incredibly grateful for.

Vanlaere said that he wanted to study in the United States so he could become fluent in English and meet new people.

This is a common goal, as Baen noted, many international students involved in the Rotary’s foreign exchange program are interested in learning English: “the language of commerce.”

Since Vanlaere arrived, he has been fully integrated into the Central Texas lifestyle and has seen a football game, shot a gun, played volleyball at Sewell Park and floated on the San Marcos River. This study abroad has inspired Vanlaere to travel more in the future; he said he hopes to go somewhere new next time.

Before the beginning of the school year, Baen said Vanlaere participated in an orientation, which included all of the foreign exchange students sponsored by the Rotary clubs in the district (58 clubs), as well as all of the candidates for the outbound exchange program.

Baen said his family has personally housed ten foreign exchange students and is in close contact with three of them–a professor from the Netherlands, a South Korean emissary volunteer and a doctor from Brazil.

He added that the club is also involved in outbound exchange programs, something which two of his children have participated in–one went to France the other to Ecuador.

Baen said the outbound foreign exchange program has an extensive interview process that takes approximately nine months to ensure that the kids are mature enough and able to handle the distance from family.

He said the deadline to apply for outbound foreign exchange for the 2024-2025 school year has already passed, but they will be accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year starting in the summer of 2024.

Upcoming is the Rotary Youth Leadership Award for high school juniors, which according to the club's website is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where one may develop skills as a leader while having fun and making connections.

Baen said the Rotary sponsors a couple of volunteer programs within the schools including Early Act for elementary school students, Interact for high school students and Rotaract for college students, and each of them practice the Rotary motto “service above self.”

For more information on the Rotary Club and what they do go to smtxrotary. com.