Rotary Youth Exchange offers inspiring summer experience for local teen

For more than 75 years, thousands of American teens and host families from all over the world have spent their summers broadening their horizons through Rotary Youth Exchange. 

This summer Shorecrest senior Lucia Shadduck (17) participated in the eight-week, family-to-family program spending 4 weeks in France living with a host family and returning home to Lake Forest Park with her French exchange sister, Clotilde Pocheron (16) for another 4 weeks.

After months of planning, and anticipation for the unknown, Lucia Shadduck left Seattle on June 27, 2025 bound for Amsterdam, and then transferred to a flight to Nantes, France. Lucia met her host family in Nantes and then traveled 2 hours by car to the home she would stay in for the next month. 

Clotilde Pocheron’s family (parents Delphine and Sylvan, and younger brother Paul) live in a small town outside of La Rochelle which is an historic port city on the west coast of France, population 79,000 (surrounding urban area population 172,000). 

Lucia and Clotilde in France

Lucia had a great attitude about leaving home to stay with people she had never met, in a country she had never been to, saying, “I can do anything for a month!”

Lucia describes her summer experience in France as a true cultural exchange and not a vacation. Although the immersion into French language was the greatest challenge for Lucia, it was also her greatest reward. 

When asked what her favorite part about the experience was, without hesitation Lucia will answer, “speaking French.” Other favorites were having a little brother for a month, and all that cheese! 

Besides her friendship with Clotilde, Lucia says her main takeaways from living in France are a better understanding of just how big the world is, and a truer understanding of herself.

On July 28th Lucia said au revoir to her new French family and traveled with Clotilde to Seattle to begin the second half of the exchange. After a month living with Lucia’s family and experiencing many of the wonderful things the Pacific Northwest has to offer, Clotilde was much harder pressed to name her one favorite thing about her experience, usually answering in her thick French accent, “I love America.” (Though she did especially enjoy the new experiences of riding in a golf cart and learning to waterski!)

The day before returning to France, Clotilde was able to attend the new student welcome event at Shorecrest High School. Seeing an American high school and meeting so many students was eye opening and mind blowing for her – everything was so different. She said later that she wished she could have attended school here for a semester.

Lucia and Clotilde in Seattle

Sans Lucia, Clotilde returned to France on August 29th. Although the summer exchange had officially concluded, both girls know they will be in touch regularly through social media and WhatsApp and will see each other again someday.

Even the 4 parents formed special relationships over WhatsApp, bonding over Sounders (especially when they played Paris St. Germain!) scores and pictures of their daughters having life-changing international experiences.

Both families highly recommend the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and would encourage anyone interested to find out more. 

As cultural ambassadors, Clotilde and Lucia visited Rotary club meetings in both La Rochelle and Lake Forest Park to speak with Rotarians about the program, sharing their experiences and encouraging others to participate in the exchange.

Rotary District 5030 Youth Exchange Program, which incorporates the greater Seattle/Bellevue/Puget Sound region (including Shoreline and Lake Forest Park), currently sponsors exchanges with more than 40 other Rotary Districts in over 25 countries worldwide.

The exchange program is open to students ages 15-18. The process for participation includes an application, an interview, and a home visit. American students pay an administrative and insurance fee and pay for the cost of their own travel.

The Rotary program is very well organized and supported, with great communication from the local coordinators. Interested families should visit the District website. Informational zoom meetings for summer 2026 exchanges are coming up September 16 & 30, 2025. 

Specific questions may also be directed to the chair of the District 5030 Youth Exchange, Hal Beals hwbeals@gmail.com.