My Rotary story, just like everyone’s, is unique. Mine started in 2004, when at 16 years old I waved goodbye to my family and close friends and boarded a flight to Brazil for Rotary Youth Exchange. A year later, I returned to my hometown of Salinas, California, USA with a new language, a very bronze tan, new friends and people I considered family. I had transformed from a shy, quiet student to a confident, self-assured young person. It was an experience that changed everything for me. 
Wanting to learn more about the world, I went to a university which offered international degrees and global study opportunities. I joined Rotaract and over the following years lived, studied and worked between the US, Brazil, Chile and Taiwan. Encouraged by Rotarians, in 2012 I applied and received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study a Master’s at the University of York. Fast forward ten years, and I’m still here and am now in my eighth year as a member of York Rotary