Delegate Testimonials

World Affairs Seminar was a life changing experience for me. It is probably the most important single experience I’ve ever had. I still see the positive change it has in my life, and in other delegates. In an ideal world a lot more would get the chance to attend, but the world is what is. So we just have to keep starting where we are, using what we’ve got and doing what we can.

Ben from Oslo, Norway

World Affairs Seminar 2014

World Affairs Seminar had a huge impact on my coming of age by exposing me to people outside my own bubble. I grew up in a small farming community. I lived around, played ball with, and went to church with people who all looked like me. White, blue collar, and middle class. There were no instant changes in me after coming back from a week away with home, spent with kids from around the Country/World, but seeds were planted. That experience gave me confidence to leave home for long periods of time, it let me know what to expect when doing something I’d never done before, and opened my mind to the possibility that people who looked different from me weren’t actually all that different. I met people from all over, I heard speakers from around the world, and was asked to consider ideas and challenges I’d never considered before. I only recently realized that my local Rotary club was the reason I was able to attend free of charge, and am considering that that grant may be the reason I’m part of a Rotary club over hundred miles from where I grew up. World Affairs Seminar was hugely influential in planting seeds of diversity, equality, and giving me the mindset of a citizen of the world, and not a citizen of my small town in rural Wisconsin.

Jackson from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

World Affairs Seminar Alumnus

I began [our club’s] association with the WAS in 1997 and since then our club has sent 45 students. We are so very proud of the participants’ accomplishments over the years, for many have gone on to areas of life triggered by their wondrous experience. Many have retained lifetime friends because of it. For this, I thank all those responsible for the programs and the efforts to make such an experience possible.

Fran Desjardins, Rotary Club of Nipissing, MI

World Affairs Seminar Sponsor

I got to meet people from all over the world and listen to some really great speeches. Most importantly, I made new friends that will always have my back and I will always have theirs! I recommend anyone who is given the opportunity to go, TAKES IT!

Sierra from Iowa, USA

World Affairs Seminar 2018

It was one of the best weeks of my life! I met so many amazing people and was inspired to pursue a degree in environment science. The claim that this seminar can change your life isn’t just a cliche; it’s true!

Josh from North Bay, Ontario

World Affairs Seminar 2016

Dear WAS,

Thank you for filling my heart with love and renewed faith that incredible, inspiring people are truly everywhere… and for giving me friendships that make saying goodbye so hard.

Sarah from Wisconsin, USA

World Affairs Seminar 2017

It is one of the best experiences I had in high school — I had so much fun meeting so many wonderful young people my age with so much interest and potential and I learned so much about our globe that I been ignorant of before. I felt so inspired after leaving the Seminar.

Alida from Juneau, AK

It’s crazy how you can make so many memories in just one week!

Daisy from Wisconsin, USA

World Affairs Seminar 2018

The World Affairs Seminar was amazing and it was great to meet people from all kinds of different places! It gave me hope on our generation’s motives for change.

Spencer from California, USA

World Affairs Seminar 2018

This is such a great program. Every student that takes advantage of it [from our club] tells us it’s one of the highlights of their educational lives! Thanks again.

Rotary Club of Burton-Middlefield

World Affairs Seminar Sponsor

I attended this seminar back in 2007 and it changed my life forever. I was always apart of the Rotary family through my grand father who was a Rotarian here in the Bahamas. However, back in 2007 I was about to be a high school senior and the venture I experienced through this seminar were not only inspiring but also well needed. I met some of my best friends to this day and was able to share so many stories and memories with persons from all around the world. I would recommend this program to anyone and would support wherever needed.

Leslie G from Nassau, Bahamas

It is an awesome experience that’ll really help round you. I mean you meet people from about everywhere. People of all different backgrounds, ideas, and personalities. It’s so much fun. You have got to go!!

Nathanael from New Hampton, IA

The dance helped bring together all the delegates to bond through gyrations and grooves, while afterwards gathering in the dorm square to reminisce, chat and exchange info was priceless. I felt like I really got to know my fellow floor mates and peers when FLOOR 5 spent the entire night up, buying pizza, chatting, goofing around, and just enjoying each other’s company. This was something I will always cherish and remember fondly upon.

Kendrick from Cranbury, NJ

Dear World Affairs Seminar,
As an AFS student I had the opportunity to attend the WAS in 1996. Nearly 15 years later, I want to thank you all for the very interesting days we’ve all spent there!
Thanks!

Bert

Guys, it is the best!

Enzo from Mottola, Italy

No where else are you going to hear firsthand how the rest of the Asian community feels about their neighbor North Korea, sit down and talk to someone from Rio D about what’s really going on, and hear the story of one of the few survivors of the Holocaust. All in one event. It’s amazing.

Matthew from St. Croix, Virgin Islands

Delegate Testimonials

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