Venezuelan exchange student giving back to Rotary Club who helped him stay in Nova Scotia

Matthew’s Mission: Paying-It-Forward An exchange student received a helping hand when he needed it most, and now he’s paying-it-forward with a Bluenose Marathon fundraiser.

An international exchange student who found himself stranded in Nova Scotia at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is now giving back to a local Rotary Club who came to his rescue.

Matthew Quiroz came to Canada in 2019 from Venezuela as Rotary Youth Exchange student.

He graduated from Dartmouth High in 2020, but when it was time to go home, Venezuela had closed its borders.

“Five Rotary clubs got together and we said, ‘He’s worth investing in,’ so we started a scholarship fund, The Venezuelan Scholarship Fund,” says Kevin Connors, Dartmouth East Rotary Club president.

With the funds, Quiroz was able to go the University of King’s College in Halifax, where he recently graduated from with a Bachelor of Science and Statistics.

Quiroz says he wants to celebrate his graduation by paying it forward to the Rotary Club for everything they’ve done for him.

“I wanted to do something that was a big personal milestone, but also something that would help other people, so I decided to sign up for the Blue Nose Marathon and train for it for over nine months,” he says.

The Blue Nose Marathon takes place this weekend and will see runners travel more than 42 kilometres across Halifax and Dartmouth.

Quiroz is running to raise money for ShelterBox, a disaster relief charity.

“They provide relief and help in zones of conflict around the world,” he says. “They’ve been pivotal in a lot of disaster relief and it’s one of the main organizations and charities that Rotary helps out.”

Quiroz says his other goal is to eventually a Canadian citizen.

“I’ve had such a great time in Canada and it’s offered me so many good opportunities that I really want to stay here,” he says.

“I’m working fulltime; I’m working towards my (permanent residency) and eventually becoming a citizen. Coming to Canada and getting the opportunity to go to school here was just a dream come true.”

A link to Quiroz's fundraiser can be found here.

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