It Runs In The Family
Rotary has been present in my life for as long as I can remember as both my mom (Pictured with Rachel in the cover photo when they attended Rotary day at the UN!) and my grandfather are Rotarians. I grew up going to occasional early morning breakfast meetings with my mom at the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise, her club at the time. Getting up early was hard but the tater tots served with breakfast were worth it!
Because of this, I’ve had amazing experiences through Rotary. In 2009 my family and I travelled to South Africa for a month. Because of my mom’s Rotary connections we were hosted for a part of that time by members of a local Rotary club. In 2015 I was sponsored by my mom’s current club, the Rotary Club of Toronto Sunrise, to go to Adventures in Citizenship (AIC), here in Ottawa. This 4 day trip brings together 200 grade 11 and 12 students from across the country for speakers, workshops, and education about what it means to be Canadian. This trip was an extraordinarily eye-opening and fun experience that I owe to Rotary. In 2018 the Rotary International Convention was held in Toronto. This annual convention brings together Rotarians from across the world for a week long event. Through my mom’s Rotary connections I was given the opportunity to be a flag bearer at the opening ceremonies which meant I was on stage in front of thousands of Rotarians at the Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena). These are just a few of the incredible experiences I had through Rotary, even before I was a Rotaractor!
When I started university four years ago I felt that I had to join Rotaract! Unlike many people in our club I hadn’t had an Interact club to join in high school and I was excited to finally join the Rotary family. I reached out to the club on Twitter and came to the first meeting. However, due mostly to how overwhelming first year of university was I didn’t make it to any more meetings. That year and the following year I followed the club’s events and activities on social media and I knew that I was missing out on being part of something incredible. In my third year I finally took the plunge and officially joined Rotary as a Rotaractor, becoming a third generation member of the Rotary family.
Now that I’m in my third year as a member of the Rotaract Club of Ottawa, and in my second year on the executive committee, I can truly say that joining Rotaract has shaped my university experience. I’ve travelled to Toronto, Montreal and New York City for events, volunteered in the community, learned how to curl at our bonspiel, and most importantly met an amazing group of like minded students and young professionals to learn from and build lasting friendships with.
Joining the Rotary family was one of the best decisions I’ve made and I couldn’t be prouder to continue the family tradition.