The community is encouraged to attend the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise meeting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the Pioneer Inn to learn about the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and meet Ayn Marie Eastridge.

LAHAINA – Ayn Marie Eastridge, who recently returned from a year in Germany with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, will speak at the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The meeting will be held at 7 a.m. at the Pioneer Inn.

The public is invited to attend. The $10 fee includes a full breakfast with menu selections. Payment is accepted at the door.

Eastridge, now a senior at Lahainaluna High School, spent her junior year in Germany. This experience “broadened my perspective of the world and gave me a new appreciation and understanding of my culture,” she stated. With only a basic understanding of German when she arrived, she was completely fluent within a few months.

Eastridge lived with host families, went to a German school and participated in community activities. Additionally, she had an opportunity to travel throughout Europe with other exchange students.

“A year ago, I had not traveled out of the U.S., and now I have been to 16 countries. I highly encourage every student with a desire to travel to take advantage of this opportunity to make incredible memories while living and studying abroad,” she said.

For more information on the program, students should contact Outbound Student Coordinator David C. Hurd (kawika4rotary@gmail.com) or District Youth Exchange Chair Summer Escajeda (s.escajeda@transmarine.com). Applications are due in November, and students must be 15-18 years old to participate.