Roswell Rotary is thrilled to welcome Mattéo Ngoy Kalumba, our newest Youth Exchange student from France who also has roots in the Congo! Mattéo arrived on August 9 to a warm and enthusiastic welcome from Gordon and Ashley Owens, Alisia Booth, and Deb Perkins. He barely had time to catch his breath before diving into Youth Exchange Orientation, where he connected with Rotarian Peter Saddler.  Mattéo will attend Roswell High School as a junior, with Gordon and Ashley Owens serving as his host family to help ensure a smooth transition. Everyone will have the chance to meet Mattéo soon, and we’re excited to learn more about his interests, including a budding enthusiasm for football.

Born and raised in Lorient, Brittany, France, Mattéo has three siblings, two of whom are in college or graduate school, and his favorite subjects are math and science. Mattéo is currently pursuing a dual high school diploma through a partnership between his school in Brittany and a high school in Florida, with aspirations to study medicine in the U.S. He enjoys basketball, football, and PlayStation, and hopes to join sports teams at RHS. We’re delighted to have Mattéo in our Rotary family and look forward to supporting him throughout this exciting journey.

For almost 100 years, Rotary International has arranged high school student exchanges around the globe. Today, the Rotary Youth Exchange program is one of the largest and most respected high school exchange programs in the world. Each year, nearly 10,000 students participate in this life-changing experience.