EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER - East Alton-Wood River High School senior Lilly Bock has been selected by the Riverbend East Rotary Club to participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and is scheduled to leave for Italy for her senior year. She has been involved in an ongoing fundraising effort and held a final fundraiser at Rustic Roots on Sunday night, July 19, 2026, with exceptional turnout.
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Bock will study abroad in Italy for 11 months, during which she will attend school, live with a host family, and learn about the culture, the Rotary club said. The club said she will be the first student from East Alton-Wood River High School to take part in the program.
Her mother, Melissa Seldon, said, "She took a leap of faith and was accepted into the Rotary Youth Exchange program. We are proud she will be the first student from East Alton-Wood River to do this and is opening the door for future teens in our community.”
Bock’s mother said she was proud of her daughter’s initiative and independence as she prepares for the exchange year in Italy.
“It’s been amazing to see her make so much progress in this effort," her mother said. "We are all just so proud.”
Seldon said Bock has been doing online tutoring to learn the language for Italy and has already met other students in the exchange program from South Korea, Sweden, Brazil, and Taiwan.
“She will go to school there, do a lot through our local Rotary Club and school district,” Seldon said. “She has already met kids all over the world that she would have never met without this, and she is about to meet a whole lot more people when school starts. It is great to know what she is doing and learning about their language, schooling, and culture. It is truly life-changing, and we are so proud of her.”
Bock is expected to depart on a tentative date of Sept. 3, 2026, before the Sept. 14, 2026 school start, and return in late June 2027 or early July before starting college.
Seldon said Bock plans to pursue nursing or pre-med studies at a Chicago-area school and has been shadowing doctors this year. She also said her daughter is hoping to start a community Interact club.
If you would like to donate to Lilly's program for the year of study, click the link below:
