Group Study Exchange ~ GSE Overview Click Here

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of The Rotary Foundation is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young adults. Through the program, teams of professional men and women exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. The awards involve four-week visits, during which team members share homes with Rotary families, experience the host country's institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas with their professional counterparts. They also give presentations to Rotary clubs and other groups about their sponsor district and home country.
People interested in applying should be employed full-time in a recognized business or profession. Young professionals within the age range of 25 to 40 are encouraged to apply. Applicants must live or be employed in Rotary District 7450—comprised of the counties of Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, and portions of Montgomery and Bucks counties.

Top photo, from left to right:

Team Members Vaishali Pradhan and Sreeyah Kulkarni, Idna Corbett (president of Greater West Chester Sunrise RC), Siddheshwar [Anna] Nagakar (team leader), Hemraj Rajput, B.J. Barrett (president of Exton/Frazer RC), and Mohini Modak.

Second photo - Sreeya Kulkarni performing a classical Indian dance.

2006-07 GSE
This Rotary year, our district is exchanging teams with District 3030 in the state of Maharashtra, India. Maharashtra encompasses an area of 308,000 km² (119,000 mi²), is the third largest state in India and has a population of 96.7 million, making it the second most populous state. District 3030 has 81 Rotary Clubs, with a membership of about 3,200 Rotarians. Rtn. Balasaheb Joshi is the District Governor for 2006-2007.

Outbound Team
For our outbound team, the Group Study Exchange (GSE) Committee selected Harshad Dodia, member of the Rotary Club of Westtown-Goshen, as the Team Leader. The committee also selected three team members: Michael Bing, Rodney Mader, and Kristan Ware. The team traveled to India from January 1 through February 3, 2007.

Group Study Exchange Team (from left to right): Harshad Dodia (Team Leader), Rodney Mader, Kristan Ware, and Michael Bing.

District clubs are encouraged to invite the outbound GSE team members to speak at their club meetings. Their contact information is as follows:

  • Michael Bing – Director of Business Development at VKG Consultants. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Glenside. mab@vkgsolutions.com
  • Rodney Mader – Associate Professor of English Literature at West Chester University. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Greater West Chester Sunrise. rmader@wcupa.edu
  • Kristan Ware – Trainer/educator at LHK Partners, Inc. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Eastwick-PHL. kristanware@gmail.com

From left to right: Barbara Jackson (GSE Committee) ~ Vaishali Pradhan (GSE team member) ~ Sreeyah Kulkarni (GSE team member) ~ Dabbs Woodfin (Concordville-Chadds Ford RC) ~ Idna Corbett (GSE Comittee Co-Chair) ~ (Harshad Dodia (Westtown-Goshen RC) ~ Siddheshwar [Anna] Nagakar (GSE Team Leader) ~ Hemraj Rajput (GSE team member) ~ Mohini Modak (GSE team member)

  >  for all the detail

Inbound Team
A five-member team from District 3030 arrived in Philadelphia on April 21, 2007. The team is comprised of Team Leader Siddheshwar [Anna] Nagakar and Team Members Sreeyah Kulkarni, Mohini Modak, Vaishali Pradhan, and Hemraj Rajput. We hope they have a pleasant and worthwhile visit to the Philadelphia area.
The inbound team will be hosted by the following District 7450 clubs:

  • April 22 – 29 Glenside and Philadelphia
  • April - May 6 Glen Riddle and Chester
  • May 6 – 13 Exton/Frazer and Concordville/Chadds Ford
  • May 13 – 20 Langhorne
District GSE Committee Members:
Co-Chairs
Jenny Armitage, RC of Kennett Square – jarmitag@vet.upenn.edu
Idna Corbett, RC of Greater West Chester Sunrise – dridna@comcast.net or icorbett@wcupa.edu

Doug Blazey, RC of Wayne
Harshad Dodia, RC of Westtown-Goshen
Daniel Guyon, PDG, RC of Glenside
Jack Grant, PDG, RC of Newtown Square
Barbara Jackson, RC of Eastwick-Phila Airport
Linda Messer, RC of Glen Riddle
Brian Whirtsafer, RC of Edge Hill

Ex officio
Marty Phillips, District Governor
Russ deFuria, District Governor Elect
DGE Russ deFuria has selected District 2100 Naples, Italy, as the GSE destination for the 2007-08 Rotary year. Their team will visit our district from April 5th to May 4th and will return to Italy along with our team. Our team will be in Italy from May 4th thru June 1st, 2008. Applications for team leader and team members can be found at the following RI websites:

Team leader:

Team member:

Please mail applications to Idna Corbett at 223 Lawrence Center, West Chester, PA 19383.

We haven't set deadlines for receipt of applications or dates for the interviews. As soon as the committee and DGE Russ deFuria make those decisions, the information will be posted on the website.