The Exchange Column: Who is Fred?

By: Fred Amorim

Frederico Amorim is a 17-year-old guy who loves soccer and DJ-ing. He is also an exchange student sponsored by Rotary International, and is originally from Sorocaba, a big city right next to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

I’m Fred. Nice to meet you!

From this moment on, I would like to share with you a little bit about myself, how life is in my home country, and tell you about my experiences in the US during this year while I spend time among all of you here at North Warren.

To have the opportunity to come to this country for a year, I had to fight very hard. It all began when a 4-year-old boy discovered that he had cousins that lived here in the US. This boy was blown away when he realized that the world was not just the city that he was born in. That boy was me. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to live in the United States. This became not just my biggest objective, but my deepest dream.

Growing up, I was never rich. My family couldn’t really afford a regular exchange program, but in 2015, a very special organization came into my life. Rotary was the only way that my family and I could afford to keep on dreaming. But to be accepted by Rotary in my city is a very tough process. Around 90 high school students go through many interviews and tests that the elder Rotarians review to determine the 25 best students who deserve to be sponsored.

I originally began this process in 2015, and passed the tests, coming in 9th place. The chance to come here became a very big possibility. But in March of 2016, I experienced one of the saddest moments of my entire life. The day to choose a country for my exchange year had come, and I found out, specifically in that year, the US didn’t have a spot for anyone from my Rotary district. I could have gone to any other country, but my heart had already chosen the US, and I felt like this country had also chosen me.

I still had one more year to try and go through the Rotary process again, and so I did. Last November, I found out that I had passed the Rotary test again, this time in 8th place, and in late February of this year, my dream finally became a reality. I was chosen to pick the first of four spots for the United States. I spent 13 years of my life dreaming, and that was the best thing that I could have ever done.

To all of you at North Warren, I would like to thank you for accepting me in your country, especially the ones who have been extremely supportive of me so far and I could not be more thankful. You are the ones responsible for my adaptation process to a new school and a new life in a different country. You are really making a huge difference in my life and helping the dream of a 4-year-old Brazilian boy become a very happy reality. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I will see you next time for more facts about my exchange life!

Editor's Note:

As Fred embarks on a new journey in his life, as a student in America, he will be sharing with you his cultural background, stories, and experiences. Fred's enthusiasm to be here in America is a reminder to us all, the opportunities we have here in the U.S. As much as Fred is grateful to have the American experience, we are just as lucky to have the opportunity to learn about Fred and his culture. His next article will feature the geography of Brazil. I know I am looking forward to seeing the world through Fred's eyes, and I hope you too will enjoy learning about him through his column.