Her stomach dropped as she heard the announcement and entered the long line. She felt the familiar sensation of being alone. The feeling of leaving everything behind. Following her long-haul flight from Italy, Fabiana Stella trudged down the jet bridge for the final leg of her journey. Not only was she jetlagged, but the crisp of tears is still present below her eyes.

“On the plane [to Toronto,] I read all the letters that my parents, my family, my friends wrote me and I cried all six, seven hours,” Stella said.

These are not just words on paper, they are a temporary goodbye. While the letters made her emotional, they were comforting for her, as Stella would be spending her final year of high school in a country that had only been in her dreams.

“It was horrible. I went to the airport with my boyfriend, my brother, my mom, and my dad, and it was in Rome and I’m from Naples, so it was like two hours [by car] and it was so silent,” Stella said. “No one was talking in the car, and then at the airport, I had to say goodbye and we all cried and it was so sad. I didn’t realize that I was leaving for real. ”

This reality is one that took Stella time to conceptualize. But with some experience, the feeling of being away from home was not as foreign as she felt entering the United States.

“I did a short exchange in South Africa for one month and a half and it was wonderful,” Stella said. “Then the girl that hosted me came to my house for one month and a half so it was like an exchange and it was really fun. We went on [a] safari and I went to school there which was completely different, so that’s when my mom said ‘Okay I will let you do the exchange here [for a full year].’”

What seemed like a smooth transition, much like her African adventure, was anything but ordinary. Landing in the United States just 20 days before the start of school, she found herself in the middle of Hurricane Alley during its peak season.

Despite this, she has been able to thrive in America. She accredits this smooth transition to the punctuality of International, the company that handled the exchange.

“It was easy because you think of Rotary as some fancy thing but [after] I tried it it’s not true because it’s not that fancy. I go to Rotary meetings every week in the morning before school and they are really kind with me so they help me,” Stella said.

From behind the scenes, local district Rotary exchange chairman, Lou Mello, has assisted exchange students for years. It is his passion to give students the cultural experience of a lifetime.

“Some of the biggest countries for youth exchange would obviously be the US, Europe in general, Brazil and South America, Japan, Taiwan and so forth,” Mello said. From there,
Mello goes through the process with the State Department and acquiring visas for the students as well as setting them up with host families.

In Stella’s case, this visa was for the United States and the guarantee form for Wando High School. Mello said this decision is one that will benefit Stella for her entire life.

“[It] opens your eyes to the world [and] gives you an open mind. It lets you understand that people all over the world are very much the same, but there are cultural differences, and those cultural differences expand your horizons,” Mello said.

For Stella, these cultural differences are what drew her to the States. That, and a common stereotype that she had to test.

“I thought before coming that people [are obese], but now I’ve met a lot of people that are not… and the food is terrible, it’s really bad. I gained like three pounds [because] here you have added sugar but in Italy [it is] a lot healthier,” Stella said.

While the cuisine here in the US might not be to the standard palate of a Neapolitan like Stella, she knows this experience will open her eyes to the future.

“My mom told me that I am more mature and it’s only been two months, so probably when I go back to Italy I will really be different. I came here for [the American accent],” Stella said.

Stella said these ambitious goals of changing her accent and becoming a more rounded person is a result of the seamless organization of Rotary International.

“With Rotary, it’s a lot safer. With Rotary, you are sure that you are going in a good family [with] good people,” Stella said. “I just saw on TikTok people doing the exchange… I love English so it has always been my dream to come here