Mackenzie Young of Berry Park (sponsored by Maitland Sunrise Rotary), Milly Matheson of Black Hill (sponsored by Kurri Rotary) and Jessica Aitchison of Thornton (sponsored by East Maitland Rotary) are three of 13 students from the 9670 rotary district who will complete a year’s study overseas in 2017.

Mackenzie, 15, will stay with a host family in Orsted, Denmark, which is about four hours north-west of Copenhagen.

The Maitland High School student did not choose the destination for herself, but is looking forward to visiting the country voted the happiest nation in the world three years in a row.

She decided to apply for the program as her older brother Max recently returned from a year’s exchange in Finland.

Along with attending school, Mackenzie will help out on a pig farm and try to perfect her Danish, which her family has been helping with already.

“They’ve been leaving sticky notes [written in Danish] all over the house,” Mackenzie said.

Milly, 17, is off to sunny Spain for the year, to join a host family in Marbella, Malaga.

Inspired by her mother’s rotary exchange experience in Japan as a teen, Milly said she was keen to follow the same path.

“I’ve grown up hearing about it and how it changed her life,” she said.

Milly, who attends Linuwel Steiner School, decided on Spain after she heard from a previous exchange student who travelled there.

“This time last year I didn’t know where Spain was,” she said. “I’ve never really been overseas before, so I’m jumping in the deep end. I want to see a bit more of the world.”

The youngest of the three Jessica, 14, is bound for Ratzeburg, Schleswig Holstein, Germany, about three hours north-west of Berlin.

Jessica originally had her heart set on travelling to Canada, but decided she wanted to advance her language skills beyond the French she has learned, so chose Germany instead.

The Bishop Tyrell Anglican College student is looking forward to the new experiences that await her including seeing snow for the first time and attending just her second school ever.

Six months of preparation has gone into the trip and Rotary District 9670 youth exchange program chairperson Denise Parkes said she was extremely proud of all three girls.

“It’s amazing for us as a committee to see their development,” she said. “They’ve just grown in personality, keenness and attitude in such a short period of time.”