Club Meeting: Update from a Former Exchange Student

Anna Knill, a Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Switzerland (2016-2017), became the first exchange student through the Rotary Club of Wilsonville when it resumed its program in 2016. She spent almost a year in Wilsonville, attending the High School, joining Rotary events, and living with three host families. After six years, she is now coming back to revisit her “second home” in the United States. She will share memories from her time here, talk about what she has been doing since then, and talk about the impact Rotary Youth Exchange has had on her life.

The Rotary Club of Wilsonville meets weekly Thursdays at noon to carry out its purpose of providing service and fellowship to members and the Wilsonville community. Guests are welcome. Lunch is available off the menu; please arrive and order by 11:45 a.m. if you are ordering lunch. For more information, email president@wilsonvillerotary.com.

Official bio:  In 2016-2017, Anna Knill was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Switzerland and spent almost a year in Wilsonville. During that time, she had the opportunity to make many new and lifelong memories and friendships, improve her English, and learn more about the United States and herself. After returning to Switzerland, she studied Health Science and Technologies for her bachelor’s at ETH Zurich then continued her education at the same institution with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

Currently, Anna is a PhD candidate specializing in Rehabilitation Engineering at the RELab of ETH Zurich and the Cereneo Foundation. Her focus is on manual dexterity, better understanding of upper limb impairments after neurological injury, and implementing novel assessments into the clinic to enhance the lives of individuals in rehabilitation.

Alongside her academic pursuits, Anna remains to be a passionate athlete (doing mainly triathlon) and loves to spend time with her friends and family. She is a member of the HackaHealth association that organizes Hackathons to craft personalized solutions for daily living for people with disabilities.  She volunteers for events like the CYBATHLON, where people with disabilities compete in everyday tasks using assistive technologies.