After spending a year immersed in a foreign culture, Rotary exchange student Kellina Minors has returned home from Bolivia with her horizons expanded.“It’s a programme I would recommend for anyone to get involved in,” said the Warwick teen of the international student exchange that regularly sees students sent abroad from their English language comfort zone.A self-described language buff, the 18-year-old ended up teaching a little English and studying the local Spanish in Bolivia’s eastern city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.Her stay also presented a chance to travel the length and breadth of one of South America’s poorest countries.Recalled Kellina: “People there talk about the beauty of the country and say there’s nothing to worry about, but there’s a lot of poverty as well.“You see a lot of people begging, vendors trying to sell lemonade or anything they can — the hardest part was trying to adjust to a different culture.”As she neared graduation from CedarBridge Academy in June 2011, Kellina found herself curious for exactly that.“I wanted to head off to Acadia University [in Canada] but I thought it would be good to go off for a year, open my mind and learn new things.”The former deputy head girl learned of the Rotary programme through her school councillors, and threw herself into the application process and interviews.Securing her visa scant days before setting off, Kellina travelled to Bolivia along with former Berkeley Institute head girl Chioma Nwasike, and took up studies at the Collegio Franco Boliviano.“It was kind of hard for my dad, Gregory Minors. We lost my mom when I was two years old, and it was a struggle after that. He’s the best dad in the world, and we stayed in touch by Skype.”Kellina was missed also by stepmother Carolann Tacklyn.Skype has proven equally useful for keeping in touch with her Bolivian host family since her return to Bermuda in June, and she hopes to revisit the country one day. For now, Kellina is kept busy with her summer internship with HSBC, which she received after taking the company’s Most Impressive Student award last year.Working in the company’s public relations department allows her to further an interest in international business that began with a summer job at age 16 while working at AIG.Currently she is applying for scholarships to assist in her business administration studies in Canada.“I’ll decide my focus as soon as possible, but it will most likely be in international business and public affairs,” she said.Asked if she planned to venture overseas for work, Kellina told The Royal Gazette: “I’m hoping to end up in Hong Kong. Acadia’s study abroad programme can take you to all kinds of places. Expect the unexpected.”Useful website: www.rotary.org.