Rotary exchange student to graduate with WHS Class of 2023

WORLAND – Last August, a new student joined the ranks of the Worland High School senior class.

Seventeen-year-old Aurora Pagani, from south of Milan, Italy, is part of the Rotary Exchange program, which allows students from the United States to trade places with students from other countries for a period of up to 10 months. Pagani has made a place for herself in Worland by joining the swimming and cheer teams, as well as living with several local families.

When asked if she anticipated she would end up in Worland, Wyoming, when she signed up for the exchange program, Pagani laughed. "Not really, but at the same time it is a place that I would have never visited otherwise, so it's interesting being here," she said.

Her American classes are very different from her Italian ones, Pagani explained. In Italy, students choose a specialty school at the age of 14 and enter a five-year program. At home, Pagani is in a science-focused school. Her classmates would stay in one classroom, and the teachers would rotate spaces. Because of the American standard of students rushing to class between periods, she said, "...here I got to meet a lot of people that I would have otherwise never met."

The thing she has learned most from her time in Worland, Pagani said, is "to be more outgoing and get to know more people, because I'm not really outgoing, so being forced in a way is nice."

Pagani is on her second of three host families, which will each house her for a roughly three-month period. Her last host family was Josh and Brooklyn Hansen, and her current home of two weeks is with Holly, Allie and Sam Stamatakos.

"I didn't know much about Rotary, actually," said Holly Stamatakos. She applied to become a host family with Rotary Exchange after meeting Pagani through the Hansens.

"My husband passed away two years ago, so I feel like I've just been trying to find my purpose after that whole thing, and for me it's just like the act of service and being able to give back to the community," said Stamatakos.

The Stamatakos kids and Pagani both weighed in on what it was like for Pagani to move in. "At first they're strangers, then you settle in, then you have to change families again. I can see like the different lifestyles between [my last family] and my new family, which is interesting," Pagani said.

Allie Stamatakos, a 14-year-old at Worland Middle School explained, "It's different having another person because you're obviously not used to it, but we also like to do a lot of stuff with our neighbors so it's just like another person added to it."

"[Pagani] gets drug around," Holly Stamatakos said. "We're kind of all over the place, but I think she likes it. She said she's used to a large family home and when they all get together it's very loud and obnoxious and she loves it." Their most recent endeavors include taking Pagani bowling and teaching her how to play Garbage. In the spring, they plan to take Pagani with them to Florida so that she can see more of the country.

The main advantage of becoming a host family, Stamatakos said, is getting to experience a different culture and learn from it. "I just love opening my kids up to her stories about how different life is in Italy versus here, and I think it's educational for all of us to experience that. Even though we're not there, we can still live a little bit of it through her. I'm really hoping that the kids just learn a lot from her, you can tell that she is a really good person and it is fun for them to have a role model like that in the household."

Stamatakos noted that becoming a host family could work for many lifestyles and would benefit anyone looking to add a little cultural perspective to their lives.

"The youth exchange program had kind of stopped for a while because of COVID, and now we're picking back up again," Rotary Youth Exchange Officer Chloe Stine said. Students age 15-19 can apply for a six-week summer program or 10-month school year in as many as 25 countries.

"Rotary's main motto is 'service above self,' volunteering and humanitarian projects are what Rotary tries to support, and supporting local to make sure that we have a lot of great programs, activities, places and things to do for our community. With our youth exchange program, we're trying to build relationships nationwide and we hope that with each student, relationships are built between countries. There's a lot of unrest right now between countries, and we are just trying to let people learn about new cultures and gain new life experiences and create e better international understanding between people in general," Stine said.

Applications are open for Worland students looking to study abroad for the six-week program. Those looking to apply, for the exchange program or as a host family, should visit rotary5440.org/clubinfo/worland and contact Stine or email [email protected].

Pagani will walk with the Worland High School Class of 2023 in May, then return to Italy to complete her fifth year of education and earn her diploma. "I'm just glad to be here!" Pagani said.