Rocky Mountain Rotary Youth Exchange

Rocky Mountain Rotary Youth Exchange (RMRYE) is dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding between people from around the world. It is the RMRYE philosophy that greater understanding and tolerance of others develops through interaction on a personal level. RMRYE offers a high school academic year program, inbound and outbound, and a short-term homestay programs (generally family to family, but also including sponsored Rotary summer camp program internationally). 

RMRYE operates through a network of area coordinators across the central Front Range region of Colorado who provide support on a local level. Rotary District 5450 stretches from the ski resort areas of Summit County to the Eastern Plains of Colorado and includes the State Capital metro region of Denver. Coordinators interview and screen host families and supervise the program during the students’ stay. Area coordinators, as well as all parties concerned, are required to submit progress reports three times a year. Area coordinators also submit monthly reports. As a J-1 visa program, RMRYE is bi-annually re-designated by the US Department of State to administer the program.

Academic Year Program – United States—International students ages 15 to 18 travel to the United States, attend school for one academic year (ten months), and live with a U.S. host family. Students must complete an application in English, pass a language proficiency test, submit transcripts indicating above-average grades, and write an autobiographical essay. Students and parents are interviewed prior to acceptance.  Students are encouraged to take English, U.S. history, and geography classes at their high school prior to departure. Upon acceptance and prior to departure, students attend  orientations that address issues such as American culture, English language, program rules, and how to make the most of the US high school experience.

In addition, RMRYE students are required to attend a series of orientations during their year in Colorado. The primary focus of the course is to acclimate students to U.S. culture, review program policies procedures and safety, and prepare them for success in their academic year stay.

Inbound students are placed with a local Rotary Club, which recruits, interviews, and trains host families prior to the student being placed. Cost to participants is approximately $3,000 to $4,200, excluding transportation, insurance, and personal expenses. Inbound students receive a monthly stipend from their host club of at least $150 for the term of their exchange.