I am not really sure who is going to be reading this blog...I know it will be lots of Rotarians and our family members but I guess for those people who are not really sure why these young people have suddenly left their jobs and headed out of the country, here is a quick run down of our purpose and how we got to this point:
The GSE Program offers a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 in the early years of their career. For four weeks our team which consists of 5 Team members (Chris King, Tong Wagner, Catherine Dillon, Carla Witt and Nic Lane) and a Rotarian Team Leader(Bert Strange), will experience the Canary Islands' institutions and ways of life, observe vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.
The GSE Program was founded in 1965 and has sent over 12,000 teams (approximately 57,000 professionals) to over 100 countries, investing $95 Million in ambassadorial stewardship and spreading good will. In 2006-2007, Rotary International will send 500 teams of approximately 2,500 professionals to foreign countries investing approximately $11,000 per person. We were selected to represent District 7750 in District 2200, the Canary Islands.
In Spain, our team will be responsible for teaching the rotarians and other people we meet about South Carolina in Spanish, living with Host Families, attending Vocational Days; axperiencing the host country's institutions; developing personal and professional relationships; exchanging ideas, and researching potential projects for Rotary International.
Upon return, we will Debrief district leaders; Submit GSE Evaluation Forms, Submit final reports, and Participate in 45 speaking engagements throughout SC about experiences in the Canary Islands.
SO HOW WERE WE CHOSEN:
Last spring, a special guy named Ken Tucker began recruiting young professionals for this program (it probably began well before last spring). We all had to be nominated and sponsored by one of the Rotary Clubs in District 7750. After we were nominated, we each went through a very tough interview process in which we had to sit one on one with the interviewer while what seemed like a hundred other people sat around and listened to our answers (I think the actual number was 12 other rotarians watching but it sure felt like 100). The interviewers spent two days at Presbyterian College for interviews (though they won't tell us the exact number of candidates that were interviewed) and we were each notified of the results the following week.
We all met several weeks later at the Rotary Hall in Simpsonville where Bert, Ken and District Governor Rich Waugh had clearly mapped out the next 8 months of our lives for us in which time, we would be going through leadership/teamwork exercises at Clemson University, meeting to begin preparing our presentation for the trip, taking Spanish lessons and having a little fun in between the madness.
So here we are...Close to a year since we all first heard about the program...We are all already better people for the training that we have received and the friendships that we have made without even leaving South Carolina (except for the one trip to High Point). So we will hop on a plane at 2:19 pm tomorrow and spend a month of our lives in the beautiful Canary Islands.
Before we leave, I know I speak for the entire group I say thank you to all the amazing people that have helped us along the way to get prepared for this trip and thank you to our families that have been so understanding of these long weekends that we have had to spend working on GSE stuff. We will miss each of you the entire time we are away!
PS - The above picture is a copy of our Business Cards sized Bios that we will be giving to the people we meeting in the Canary Islands. (prepared by the brilliant Steve Black)
Adiós,
Nic
