ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE OUTBOUND STUDENT – LEVI CROSS

Levi will be heading for Brazil in August as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.  Over the past year, he has attended conferences with other exchange students in the District to prepare him for this cultural exchange representing Rotary and the United States.   In April, he found out he was going to a city about 6 ½ hours northwest of Rio de Janeiro.  Today, Levi gave the presentation he will be giving about himself while in Brazil.  The United States became a country in 1776 when it officially declared its independence from Great Britain.  The United States has a population of 313,778,000 which includes 50 states and 5 territories.  The capital is Washington DC.  Our current president is Barack Obama who has been in office since 2009 and is our 44^th president.  He represents the democratic party and is our first African American president.  The State of Wisconsin officially became a state in 1848.  Wisconsin is called the “Badger State” and has a population is 5,726,000.  The state bird is the robin, state flower is the violet and the state dance is the polka.  The two largest cities in Wisconsin are Madison and Milwaukee.  The capital of Wisconsin is Madison and is home to the largest university in the state – University of Wisconsin – Madison.  Wisconsin is very enthusiastic about sports-Green Bay Packers (football), Milwaukee Brewers (baseball) and Milwaukee Bucks (basketball).  Appleton became a city 1853 and is home to Lawrence University.  Appleton is known for its paper mills, Museum at the Castle (Houdini exhibit) and the Hearthstone Museum, the first hydroelectric power home.  Levi attends Appleton East High School with his favorite subjects being math, science and Spanish.  An interesting fact about Appleton East is that it was built as a fallout shelter during the Cold War.  Appleton East is also enthusiastic about its sports:  football, boy’s basketball and girl’s softball.  After school, many students go the Appleton Public Library because it is a quite place to study and participate in athletics or clubs.  In his spare time, Levi enjoys hanging out with his friends at restaurants, coffee shops, downtown or at football games.  Levi wanted to thank the Club for this opportunity.