Futura Volume 1 Issue 26 (Mar 05, 2022)

Last Week's Presentation:

Rotary International Exchange Students

Invocation: Mike Fahey

Gary Cooper came up with the idea for today’s presentation as he thought about the key activities that have been pillars of our club’s character and success. He introduced three Chaska High School graduates who were sent abroad by our club: Matt Johnson, Kristine Solseng, and Sara Cooper. From the 1993 + 1994 yearbooks:

Matt Johnson

After high school graduation, Matt traveled to Sweden in 1994 and stayed in a Chaska-sized town about 45 miles west of Stockholm. He lived with just one family, so Matt emphasized that they became his 2nd family, and that Sweden became his 2nd country. He incorporated Sweden into his law career and his family life – speaking Swedish at home so his children are able to communicate with their “adopted” grandparents.

Matt’s biography: Matt Johnson and his family (wife Leslie Brady, sons Torsten (4) and Gunnar (2), and daughter Maren (1)) live in Washington, DC. After graduating from Chaska High School (1993), Matt spent his Rotary exchange year in Enköping, Sweden, where he graduated from Westerlundska Gymnasium (1994). Matt is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (1998) and School of Law (2002). While at Georgetown, Matt was political section intern at the United States Embassy (1997) and a summer clerk at Rydin & Carlsten law firm (2000), both in Stockholm, Sweden. Matt also spent a year studying in the Geography and History Department of the University of Seville, Spain (1996-97). After clerking at the United States District Court for the Central District of California (2002-03), Matt joined the law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP, where Matt has practiced his entire career as a commercial litigator. Among his cases across the US and abroad, Matt represented a client in litigation that culminated in a three-week arbitration proceeding in Stockholm, Sweden (2017). When not in Washington, DC, Matt and his family enjoy spending time in Sweden and at their lake house in Wayzata. Email: mjohnson@wc.com

Kristine Solseng

Phil and Claudia Solseng hosted many international exchange students as Kristine grew up, so it wasn’t unexpected for her to travel abroad when given the opportunity to be sponsored by our club, after graduating high school in 1994. What came as a surprise however, was that she ended up spending her assignment in Japan. Unlike Matt, Kristine’s time was split among 7 families. She was heavily impressed by her experiences and her most influential learning was that being willing to feel uncomfortable in new situations is a key to open doors to new experiences. Her visit to the Hiroshima Peace Museum left her with lasting and powerful memories. As an adult, Kristine has visited Japan several times, and still maintains contact with people who were part of her exchange experience. After her year in Japan, Kristine studied Planning, Public Policy, and Management at the University of Oregon. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and works as a Principal Planner for a Contra Costa County where she provides GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping and data analysis. Contact: www.contracosta.ca.gov

Sara Cooper
Being Gary Cooper’s daughter exposed Sara to the Exchange program and gained her several “adopted” brothers and sisters as she grew up. After gaining a foundation in high school French classes she assumed she’d be ready for her time in Europe after graduation. Like Kristine, Sara got surprised when her assignment put her into Norway. Three families shared their homes and lives with Sara, and she came away from the experience with a deeper understanding of how different families can be from each other and still provide the caring and comforting that make the Exchange program so fulfilling. Sara showed photos from her time in Norway and expressed gratitude for Rotary providing the opportunity to meet many Rotarian families during the weekends, and to experience the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. She even was able to connect with Chaska High School classmate Matt Johnson at that venue. Sara’s main take-away from her experience – the importance of being friendly and open to different ways of life.

Sara’s Biography: Sara Cooper is a Doctor of Chiropractic at Balance Natural Health Center in St. Paul. She came to really love learning about other cultures through her experience as a Rotary exchange student in Norway. She spent her junior year of college studying in France, as well as a month studying in Israel and three weeks volunteering to teach English in Russia. She graduated from Hamline University with a BA in International Studies and French. After teaching English in Japan for two years after graduating from college, she returned home and worked in her family’s small grocery store chain for several years. After being inspired to change careers by an excellent chiropractor, she went back to school at Northwestern Health Sciences University, where she graduated first in her class as a Doctor of Chiropractic. She works with clients to improve all the functions of their bodies through gentle and effective chiropractic, energy work and functional medicine. While she loves working one-on-one with clients in the office, she also finds it rewarding to teach groups of people how to improve their health. Dr. Sara loves explaining things in a way that is understandable and approachable, helping people bring balance to all aspects of their lives. She is the mother of two teenagers and enjoys exploring the world—hiking, biking, dancing, eating, learning and laughing her way through different towns, landscapes, cultures and countries. Contact: www.balancenaturalhealthcenter.com