As a part of the August Engaging Our Youth Centennial Service Challenge, we're featuring spotlights on Lions Youth Camp and Exchange chairpersons and participants. Today's spotlight is on Chelsee Augusta Moe, a 2015 YCE participant who is now a news anchor in Minnesota. Learn how you can get involved with Lions Youth Camps and Exchange!
The Lions Club has changed my life and it is something that I am forever thankful for. After I graduated college from the University of Arizona, I decided that before I started applying for "real" jobs I wanted to travel. This dream of mine was quickly knocked down when I didn't have the funds or organization to do so.
Some very close family friends told me about the Lions Youth Camp and Exchange program. I couldn't believe that a group such as this really existed; I was in awe. I applied to go to Italy and was able to go last summer. The people that I met while I was there and the experiences that I had forever changed my life and shaped me into the person that I am.
I was able to stay with a host family that I fell in love with, eat new foods and travel a new country. But the best part of it all was the people that I met along the way.
I met people from far and wide... Japan, Canada, Denmark, Hungary and many more. These people taught me how to love and how to be accepting. They taught me to get out of my comfort zone and to never let anything stop me. These people are now friends that I will have for the rest of my life.
Even though I am back in the states now working as a News Anchor in Minnesota, I remember things that I learned in Italy in my day to day life. In fact, the Lions here have already asked me to join their club. It is a group I will always be a part of and one that anyone can find all over the world. I am forever thankful for the Lions club and my experiences in Italy.
