Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32
Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32 is a podcast that features the work of Rotary International, the service organization. The podcast features the good works of Rotary clubs in the district, the zone, and the world.
Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32
Andres Briceno - Rotary and Recovery
Andrés Briceno, a Venezuelan Rotaractor, shared his journey from leaving Venezuela due to political unrest to starting a Rotaract Club in The Woodlands, Texas. He detailed a life-changing car crash on June 25, 2023, which left him in a coma for two weeks and required three surgeries. Despite the severe injuries, including a brain hemorrhage and fractures, Andrés credited his Rotary family for supporting his recovery. He highlighted the community's efforts, including a birthday party for his mother in the ICU, and his eventual return to health, emphasizing the importance of Rotary in his life.
Foreign Welcome to this episode of Talking Rotary. I'm Peter Tonge, and I'm a member of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg. Charleswood. and I am Mandy Kwasnica, past president and also a member of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg. Charleswood, we are so happy you have joined us. Peter and I are so excited for this new podcast and thankful to our many listeners. Let's start talking Rotary!
joe solway:Hi. It's Joe Solway filling in once again for Peter Tonge. Well, he serves as governor for rotary District, 5550, my jeep versus a tree. That's how Andres presenio describes what happened to him in the early hours of June, 25 2023 he would spend the next 33 days in hospital, two weeks of which were spent in a coma. He had three surgeries to relieve pressure in his brain and others to repair a hip and a clavicle. Now nearly two years later, he's literally back on his feet, and He credits his rotary family in Woodlands, Texas, along with his own from Venezuela, for playing a huge role in his recovery. He wrote about his experience in the April edition of rotary magazine, and he is with me now on our talking rotary podcast. Andres Ola
Andres Briceno:Hola, Joe, thank you for having me. Well,
joe solway:I'm happy to be here. Well, you know, I read the story, and I was really so moved, and, you know, I thought this would make a great podcast. I mean, it's a heck of a story, and it shows the, you know, the importance of rotary in people's lives. So I want to start talking about your personal journey that led up to this horrible crash. You are from Venezuela, as I mentioned, and you were a member of a rotary and a rotary club in Venezuela in 2021 at age 23 an age where a lot of people would not consider leaving home. You did. You left Venezuela for Texas briefly. Why did you leave?
Andres Briceno:Well, that's a great question. If you're aware of what's happening in Venezuela, there's a political economical crisis. And I'm one of those people that when something is wrong, I want to change it, and that's what I did. I'm not going to politics, but I decided that I wanted to see my country free, and I wanted to be part of of that fight. And so I did. I joined a political party, and I was working with the youth in Venezuela to tell them that the way to freedom was a free market capitalism in country with the system that rules in Venezuela. And when you defend freedom in a dictatorship, that makes you a target. So eventually I had to flee my country, so it wasn't my choice, but I'm happy that I'm here and I'm safe. How did
joe solway:you end up in Woodland? Woodlands, Texas? I
Andres Briceno:have an aunt that lives here, so that makes it easy. I didn't know where I was going before. I just knew that my aunt was in Texas, and that's all I knew. I pictured Texas like in the cartoons, in the movies, you know that there was a desert and cowboys, Indians, and it was a pleasant surprise when I arrived here in The Woodlands, and I see so many trees, and it's beautiful, and especially the community. So I'm happy that I and for very fortunate that I landed into the best city to live in the United States.
joe solway:And woodlands, for people who don't know is it's just outside Houston, right? Yes,
Andres Briceno:it's north of Houston. Is is a suburb in a great community.
joe solway:And, um, you one of the first things you did was you decided you wanted to start a rotary club there in woodlands. Um, why'd you want to do that?
Andres Briceno:Yes, so the one of the first thing that I did in my first week here. I went into my rotary looking for a club, a rotary club that I could join. I couldn't find any. I could see that there was a rotary Rotary Club, but it was inactive. And I'm like, well, that's odd, because in in my country and many other countries, Rotary is very active. You know, there's like a rotary club everywhere. So I thought that was odd that I couldn't find a rotary club, but there was a rotary club. It was the woodlands, and so I reached out to them, and I attended one of their meetings, and they welcomed me with open arms. So it's great to be part of that international rotary family. Then wherever you go, there's a rotary club that will welcome you. And so I did, and with time, I was like, I could take the easy way of just joining the Rotary Club, or I could start my own Road Track Club. So I decided to start one, because there was a there was a lack for for Road Track you know, there were many young professionals out there that wanted to serve and being involved, but there was no club to welcome them. So I decided to start one and and so I did. It wasn't easy, I gotta be honest. Took me about a year. You know, I started in 2022 this idea of turning the Rotary Club in a matter of a year, I was able to gather enough members to get officially chartered by Rotary International.
joe solway:You have a smile on your face for people who can't see. Is this going to be audio? But that smile quickly went away, because three days after you were chartered, this life changing, horrifying crash happened. Can Can you take me through that day? It started on a Saturday, and there's a narrative that leads up to that crash. Can you, can you go through that?
Andres Briceno:Yes, and you're right. We weren't. We were officially shuttered in June 21 2023 I remember that was a Thursday. So whenever the email, I was so excited, but we have a rotary meeting on Monday, and I said, like, Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna keep it quiet and I'm gonna surprise them on Monday with the news. So so yeah, Saturday, we had a service volunteer opportunity before sponsor Rotary Club at The Woodlands. We volunteer for a emergency shelter for at risk youth is here. It's called yes to youth. And so we organized a scavenger hunt. He was like the Amazing Race, and that was the theme. So we put clues all around shelter, and it was a fun morning. It was summer as well. So summer in Texas is very hot. So yeah, they were running around. It was amazing. They had a great time. And that took most of the morning. And from there, I went straight to work, which is at a restaurant, right? Yeah, I was working in a restaurant at the moment. And if you know something about restaurants is that Saturday is the busiest day out of the week. So, so yeah, I work till very late that that night, and from there, do you want me to keep going
joe solway:with because you're getting your car and what? Yeah,
Andres Briceno:so the the last thing that I remember is getting into my car and, you know, putting my music on, but also in my seat belt on, but also thinking I'm exhausted. I'm so, so tired. And the next morning, I had to, I had to work for a rotary friend. Her name is Hannah, and she hired me to take photos of one of her company events. So I was so excited by that opportunity, because that's what I studied in Venezuela. I was studying mass communications and photography and film. So I was I was so excited that I finally had this opportunity to start in in the new in a new industry restaurant, is it wasn't really my my call. So I was so excited by that. I also felt a little guilty because I didn't dedicate as much time to, like research the camera that I was going to use. I. Yeah, again, I was so tired and also excited. So it was a mix of feelings that those feelings are very vivid in me, because that's the last thing I remember, the next thing I know is waking up in the hospital. Wow,
joe solway:two weeks later, yeah, you know, you don't remember you. How did the crash happen? You fell asleep, yeah,
Andres Briceno:so later I was able to, you know, do my investigation and put together the pieces that were missing in my memory. Yeah, I fell asleep on the wheel. I was five minutes away from my aunt's house. That's where I was living. And if you If so, picture the woodlands. There's trees everywhere, like that's why
joe solway:they cover woodlands, I guess. Yeah, yes.
Andres Briceno:So in this you have the street, and there's trees on each side, and in the median, there's a lot of trees. So, so, yeah, I fell asleep on the wheel and hit one of those trees in the median I
joe solway:was reading when you woke up two weeks later from your coma. You, you thought, Okay, I have to go to Houston now for that photo shoot. And that was like, you were going, Okay, what's going on? I gotta get to this photo shoot. Is that what happened? Is that what you remember? Yeah, yeah.
Andres Briceno:Like when I woke up for me, time did not happen, like those two weeks did not happen for me. It was like waking up from, from from a dream or or long nap. No, I was like, Oh, I have to go to Houston, get me out of here. And, of course, I wasn't aware of what happened to my body and to me, like I want to get out of the bed, but I couldn't. I just physically could not get out of the bed. My my leg was in mobilized because I had a surgery on my on my hip, and my there was like a some kind of device holding my my leg still so I couldn't move it. And yeah, and I want to pull out all the different IVs cables that were attached to my body. I want to rip all of that and get out of there. But of course, that wasn't possible.
joe solway:Did they tell you what happened? Did somebody say you were in this terrible crash? And this is what happened. This is where you've been for the last, you know?
Andres Briceno:Yeah, like someone told me you were in a car crash, and I just couldn't believe it. For me, that was surreal. And I also have to mention I was so high, and they had me on a lot of embedded, oh, yeah, of course, yeah. So yeah, I was in my right mind at the moment. It was funny for people to see me that way, you know. And I want to escape. So, yeah, I was plotting my escaping everybody that went to visit me. I was trying to convince them to help me get out of there. So that was a lot of fun.
joe solway:So speaking of visitors, you wrote that they thought you were some kind of celebrity, because you had so many visitors, a lot of them Rotarians, coming to see you. You got this big smile again on your face. Can you talk about that? About, you know, all the Rotarians that came to check on you when you were, when you were basically, you know, you were in a coma,
Andres Briceno:yeah, yeah, I could see that the nurses, they were, like, chatting and seeing who I was, like, what's going on. So one of them got the course to come and ask me, Hey, Are you famous or something, or are you an artist? I said, Not yet. Why did you ask? She said, there's so many people coming to visit you. That's That is not normal. And I say, well, have good friends. And yes, those friends is there my rotary family, they would line up in the lobby because, you know, I was in the ICU. So they do. They would just admit to people at the time. So they will line up, and they would come visit with me, and I was talk to them, then leave, and the rest would come out. And that was great, because, let me tell you, hospitals are so boring. You know, I couldn't get out of the bed, so I had nothing to do, and I my my days were busy with. Uh, people coming to visit and talking to them. So I'm very grateful the so many people took time out of their busy lives to stop by and and checking on me and and, yeah, there are many Rotarians that went every day. I cannot blame everyone, because, like I said, there was a lot of people. If I started mentioning all of them, this would like another hour of the interview. Yeah. But they even made a birthday party for my mom. That's
joe solway:what I was going to ask you. You woke up on your mother's birthday, right? Yes. So, tell me that story.
Andres Briceno:Well, I can't remember because, yeah, but this is what I'm told. I woke up on July 10, 2023, and that's my mom's birthday and my mom, so those two weeks that happened that for me did not exist because I have no memory of it. For me, it was like waking up and time did not happen. But in reality, time happened for for my family and my friends that were so worried about me, especially with the condition that I was, they were expecting the worst things. So my mom was having a terrible time, probably the worst time of her life. I'm so glad that my rotary family, and also people from church, like the whole community, surrounded my mom making sure that she was okay. And on my mom's birthday, you know, during those that terrible situation, they made a birthday party for her in the ICU waiting room. So I never heard of someone having a birthday party in an ICU room. That's fantastic.
joe solway:Yeah, like I said, you had three surgeries on your head. I guess you're they. They put holes in your in your skull, so it would really pressure in your brain. You had other surgeries on a hip, on your clavicle, probably other places. Can you describe your recovery like, what, what that was like that, you know, you started in a wheelchair. And can you talk about the challenges and and how that went?
Andres Briceno:Sure, yes, I had three, three major surgery, but I broke many bones and parts from my body, from toe to head, and no kidding, like even my toenail, but yeah, three major service. One was on my left hip, my right clavicle and my brain, like you said, Yes, it was to release the pressure, and also they put a tube to drain the blood clots. So that was a critical procedure, because I basically had a stroke. You know, I had a hemorrhage in and that's very delicate, because something goes wrong in that city. In that procedure, I could be in a vegetable for the rest of my lives. And that was the prognostics that they would tell to my mom is like, hey, he might not wake up from the coma. He might if he does, he might not be himself. He might not even recognize you. And they were so glad that as soon as I wake up, I I was able to recognize familiar faces, you know, talk to people. And when, a month later, after I got discharged from the hospital, I went to follow up with a neurosurgeon, Dr Herrera, and he said, you know, he looked at the CT scan and everything. And he said, you know, everything looks good here, and you're a miracle. Andre say, I have patients in similar situations like yours, they they don't recover, so everything looks good here. You know what? You don't need to come see me again. And I think that's like great news when the doctor tells you that you need to come back. So I'm very fortunate that I can speak to you normally, and if I don't tell you, you cannot really tell that I had a I've went through all of this, yes, and so that was on my, my brain, but also the real challenge was my body. You know, I was in in the bed for over a month. I sat in the hospital for three, three days, and. The part of those 33 days, three weeks was in the ICU, and the last week was in the rehab center at Memorial Hermann here, that that's when my physical journey started, because I had to learn how to walk again. First was to just standing up. It was very difficult just standing up by myself and learning to use a walker and without putting a wake on my left leg because of the surgery, I was known wake bearing for many months. So first I have to forget how I used to walk and learn how to walk again without using one of my legs. It was more like hoping on my right leg. Was it frustrating? A lot. So frustrating. And then thank you for mentioning that, because it it was hard to understand that my body wasn't the same, and that many things that were so easy before were so difficult now, like just I had to learn how to transfer from the bed to to my wheelchair and doing the most simple things, like going to the bathroom. Yeah,
joe solway:these are things we take for granted, but we just do them, but you have to relearn the whole thing. Which would I can imagine? I can only imagine. That's why I say. Was it frustrating? Yes,
Andres Briceno:and you said it. We give so many things for granted and and that makes you appreciate even the small things. And when I was in the hospital, one of the best days of my lives was the day that I got a hair coat, I shaved my face and and had an ice cream, you know, that's, I can go into more detail because that's,
joe solway:yeah, there's a there's a picture you have on your Instagram, or maybe the one that you sent me of you eating an ice cream, and that ice cream is, like, a great story,
Andres Briceno:yeah? So after I woke up from the comment and I grabbed a phone and look at myself. Oh, I look awful. So I was so embarrassed. There was so many people coming to visit me, and I looked that bad. I looked like it because, of course, when they when they're doing a brain surgery, they don't care that you look good. They just shave the top of my head and let the rest long. So I tell someone, I look awful. I want to get a haircut. And she that was a Rotarian that was also a member of the Hispanic Chamber, so, you know, she asked around. And then galindos is a local barber shop here, and they sent someone to cut my hair in the ICU room. So, so, yeah, I was I got my hair cut, I shaved my face, and one of the nurses, I asked her that I wanted to see the song, you know, I had the view from my window. I wanted to be outside. And they put me on a wheelchair and took and took me to the gardens. And again, this is summer in Texas. It was hot, but feeling the sun, the sunlight on my skin that that was so warm, if that felt great, you know. And this is when, like, that nurse, her name is Darlene, she went above and beyond. She went and got me an ice cream. Like, that's not part of her job duties, but she did. And I remember it was a strawberry ice cream, and it was the best ice cream ever. I was enjoying that the sweetness of it. And, yeah, it was the best. And my sister was there, and a couple a friend from rotary and a rotator was there. So, so Yeah, feel, I felt so loved and appreciative of the small things. You know, haircut, ice cream and a hot summer day in Texas, that was the best thing. And also my sister, you know, I didn't mention this, but my sister just arrived in that moment. I should remember that was July 14. She flew from Venezuela to here to the US in a rush just to come to my aid. So she left everything behind. You know, she had a lie. From back there, she had a job, she had a friends, family, she left everything just to come help me.
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joe solway:that one moment when you're outside and you're eating that ice cream that sounds like we you know, we remember these days when one important day you can't really remember is your crash, but you certainly remember that incredible day when you're outside eating that ice cream. I mean, that's a day you'll always remember, I know,
Andres Briceno:yeah, yeah, and being surrounded by people that you love, like I said, it's been a at the moment, it's been like, two maybe three years that I haven't seen my sister, and now she she's there with me, and I do remember, Like, the first thing that I talked to her. You know, I was still a very highly medicated I say hello. Came we noticed that that's how we talk to each other. It's like Venezuelan slang. Yeah, I was happy that she was there with me and and I could enjoy an ice cream with my sister and my friends,
joe solway:simple pleasure, but not not simple. After what you've been through, you talked about somebody in your article Who was your therapist, who meant a lot to you. She was also a rotary, as it happened. Can you tell? Can you talk a little bit about her and what it meant to have her working with you, and also the fact you observe rotary you had that in common.
Andres Briceno:Yeah, yeah. So, so when I started my journey of physical therapy, you know, I can walk now, but that wasn't as easy back then. First I was in in the wheelchair, and I started in a clinic here in the in the Houston area, and, and she wasn't my main therapist. My main therapist was the David, you know, he, he would start working with me on getting on the walker and, and it was a lot of progressive work. It wasn't as easy. It was months, many months in it. And when David was on vacation, Stephanie fill out for him and making conversation, she asked me, Oh, who's that man that always drops you off here? And I say, Oh, that's my friend will from Rotary. And she's like, Oh, Rotary, are you Rotary? And I say, yeah, yeah. See, she told me I was related to rotary before, and I was surprised, because even though rotary does many great things around the world. Not many people know about Rotary. So like, Wait, how were you involved with Rotary? And she said, Oh yeah, I was an interactor when I was in high school. And then, I mean, she didn't tell me this all in one time, but I got and we got the Rotary Connection. So within conversation, she told me her story, that from interact, she became like interact district representative. And then after high school, she got the ambassadorial scholar, and they sent a district 5890, send her to the United Kingdom, to story abroad for for a year, and that inspired her to come back here and got her doctorate in physical therapy, so, you know. And then she joined like, three different Rotary Clubs. In all that process, she went to Texas, a and m and study there, like she started at her own club in rotary so she has been in three different rotary clubs by then. Wow. I was so amazed that she had a even longer rotary experience than me.
joe solway:That's a good thing, huh? That's, a good feeling. You must have felt like she was family or instantly,
Andres Briceno:yeah, exactly. That's how it feels like, Oh, that's a lost cousin that we have there. So yeah, even when she told me that she was the one that started the Rotary Club in Galveston, that's a. In the Houston area, and I'm friends with the Galveston Rotary Club. I invited her to one of their meetings, and you know, that's when we really started bonding, thanks to rotary. And now, if you think about this, Rotary made an investment sending her to study abroad with the ambassador rotary Scholar Program, and look at the return of investment. Now she was the one helping me rotary and rotary actor get back on their feet. So I think that's fascinating, because rotary have no assurance that when they make these investments is going to return or have a positive impact in others, and I'm testimony of that,
joe solway:yeah, well, Rotary certainly made, if not a financial investment, I know they helped you a little bit with your fit, with your your recovery, but also an emotional investment. You know, they've been a huge support to you. And in fact, I was reading that within days of your release from hospital, you went to a rotary meeting and a rotary meeting. I can't imagine how you got there, but how, why was it so important for you to go to those meetings so quickly?
Andres Briceno:Of course, of course, even when I was still in the hospital, my rotary members, they were inspired and motivated, highly motivated, by my situation. They even did our first service project. They did it when I was in the coma. And it's because they all felt like they needed to keep the club going. They they kept meeting, and even they made posters, you know, with a encouraging messages for me that they put around my hospital room. So imagine like I wake up and I see all these different messages. It's like Andres keep going, very encouraging. I felt so loved and happy and proud of my of my club members because they they meet their the service project on their own. You know, they they kept the clock going. I remember something that I reflected around that moment is, you know, what's the acid test of leadership? Go ahead, it's what happens when the leader is gone. So knowing that when I was gone, they stepped up, and they kept the club going, and they were super active, that was huge for me and and sometimes I would join in their meetings, you know, I was still in the hospital, but with my phone, like, they would have a Zoom meeting so I could join Wonderful, yeah. And as soon as I was out of the hospital, it was like, Well, I got out on a Friday, Tuesday, there was a rotary after hours meeting. I had to be there, so I got on my wheelchair and went to the meeting. And I cheerfully, I could not help but cry. Thank them for all the all their love and and, yeah and, like I say, as soon as I got out, I wanted to be right back with them. I went to, then to the main club meeting. And it happened to be a club assembly, and there was a, like, the district governor was, there. So So, yeah, I felt like a big family reunion, and I was so, so grateful of having them, and I continued volunteering. Like it, like I said, I got out of the hospital in July, 28 the full month of August, I was already volunteering for or leadership trainings and the bed builds that we do, and there are pictures of me building beds for kids while in a wheelchair.
joe solway:Amazing. That's incredible. And you also have on your Instagram page, there's a post of you with Jennifer Jones. Yes, tell me. Tell me about that. When? When was that? How did it happen? Because you it was, it was a real thrill, I'm sure. Yeah.
Andres Briceno:Well, I love Jennifer Jones. She is so inspiring. And and, fun fact, we got chartered during her year as president of Rotary International. You know, June 2023 that was by the end of her year. We chartering the machine Rotary. I met her in 2024 Yeah. So last year, about a year ago in district 5890, all club assembly. She was there. She was the keynote speaker, and I introduced myself. And so I'm fine. She it was her idea that I should pitch my story to the rotary magazine. You know. Oh, really, okay, yeah, yeah. Like, when I tell her my story, she's like, well, first she asked me, How are you doing now? And at the moment, I was like, Well, I can walk freely now. And like I said, that was a year ago. I just got out of there walking cane. And so first she was worried about me, and she's like, well, that's a wonderful story. You should pitch that to the rotary magazine. I want to do it. And you know, it was her idea, and I made it happen. So yeah, Jennifer Jones is a great inspiration and role model for for me and my club, because we imagine rotary and we make it, we made it happen. Wonderful.
joe solway:Well, your your own story is an inspiration, certainly to me when I read it. You know, I I was really moved, and it really touched me talking about not only your story and your own personal story of recovery, but the role that rotary played in it. What's happening with you now? How are you feeling? What's happening when you rotary life? What's going on?
Andres Briceno:Yeah, well, now that physically, I can tell you that I am like 95% back. I got my mobility my hips doesn't have the full range of motion, but that's another story. I can walk freely. I can walk. I can dance. I can run or
joe solway:dancing.
Andres Briceno:Yeah, yeah. So I'm so grateful that I am this well, and I'm so fortunate that I get to tell my story and I can, I can control the the narrative. And what I want to do now is use my story to inspire others and help people. That's what I want to do. And now i i came up with the next step. Like, you know, what you're asking me is, okay, what's the next step? Well, the next step, that's the name of my project, is to help people get back on their feet, just as rotary did for me, because I was so fortunate that I had rotary right next to me and carrying me during this and they provided all the in every step they were they were there. You know, they provide a Rotarian gave me the wheelchair, another Rotary, and provided the walker that I use, and I have two walking canes, because in one of the minutes, you know, I had to mention, oh, and I'm going to be ready to use a cane soon I get out of the walker. The next meeting, two Rotarians, different returns, brought me a walking cane. Amazing. So, yeah, so, yeah, what I want to do now is be that, be that for people that don't have a rotary club, so I want to provide for them these mobility devices, like many people that need a wheelchair, Walker, crutches, or even processes I want, I want to help others in their physical journey, and that's the next step. That's
joe solway:fabulous. That's wonderful. If people could see you have a big smile on your face. This is a kind of like a way up there question, but what has all this taught you about life? I mean, that's a sort of goes beyond rotary and beyond a lot of things. But, you know, reflecting on this, on where what's this taught you about life and living and our time on this planet?
Andres Briceno:Well, now I'm more appreciative of the small moments, and know that life is so fragile. You know, everything can can change in an instant, just like that, like in any day, like one day, one night, I thought that I was going home after work, and. Then my life changed forever, and truth is I shouldn't have survived that car crash. If you see the picture of the car, it's hard to imagine that someone survived it. So I get this second chance in life, an opportunity, and I think there's a reason behind it. You know, there's a there's probably a purpose of why I'm still here. So I feel like responsible to do something with that, with with that second chance I'm still figuring out I don't have everything lined up. And this also taught me that you can make a lot of plans, but then life changes, so we have to have the ability to adapt to circumstances and changes. Filter boxes,
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joe solway:up. And you know when, when you're talking about this, it reminds me of something that I often I know this interview isn't about me, it's about you, but, but I think there, there are other people who feel this way and feel that we, you know, our time is short on this planet, and it can be taken from us, and that it's important to make, to make a difference while we're here, you know? And I think that's why so many people are in rotary because, you know, they want, this is something they really, really want to do well, while they're here. They want to make a difference while they're
Andres Briceno:here. Yeah. So I'm blessed that I have this wonderful community and family. So I want to use all of these to my advantage and help others with that. You know, like say my next project is the next step. So I think that's like the first step. I don't know where the journey is going to go from here. That's
joe solway:fabulous. That's a great name for it, the next steps. I love that. Yeah, thank you. And
Andres Briceno:my plan as well, is to a go back to school. I want to finish a degree, and I also feel committed to my home country, Venezuela.
joe solway:Ask you that, yeah, what? What are your Do you have plans to go back there? Do you at some points? Yeah,
Andres Briceno:so for now, I cannot leave the US territory that's part of my political asylum. Condition is I cannot go back to my country while the reason that I came here is still there, and that's the dictator. But as soon as possible, I want to return to my country. And like I said, I want to help my country to be free. I want to be part of that history. So while I'm here that I cannot live, I want to do the best for it. So I've still I want to go to to school and study political science, and hopefully in the future, I get a master's degree in economics, because my country is where I want to be, and I want to help my fellow Venezuelans to find their place in the world. You know, we're we're scattered all around the world. Now there's around 8 million Venezuelans around the world, and we all want to, I mean, most of us wants to go home. So once things change in or better in Venezuela, we will go back and rebuild our country so
joe solway:but, you know, there, you'll always have a home in Rotary, no matter where you are, no matter where people are in the world. That's one of the great things about Rotary, you know, we always have a home there.
Andres Briceno:Yes, and that's it. The you know, I'm, I'm a testimony of that the rotary family is everywhere. Everywhere you go, there's going to be a rotary club that can welcome you with open arms, and it's going to help you when you need it the most, and also they will help you fulfill your dreams, just like I am doing. I. Um, my rotary club is growing strong. I'm so happy for that. You know, I'm still the president, because my first year as president was a little rocky.
joe solway:Much? Yeah, yeah.
Andres Briceno:The first six months I was in my physical recovery, so I couldn't be as committed as I should have, even though my rotators were so supportive, you know? But now I we're working on the succession plan coming July 1. I won't be the process the president. We have an amazing president elect that he's going to take over the leadership of the club, and that's going to be refreshing as well. Well, my next step in the rotary world, I'm going to be my district 5910 rotary representative. So I'm going to help grow more Rotary Clubs in my district.
joe solway:That's fabulous. So right, you know what my dog is barking, but you could probably hear so I think we're going to wind this up. And I want to thank you very much. And you know, good luck with the next step and with your next step. And thank you very much for talking to me.
Andres Briceno:Thank you, Julie. Thank you for having me and allowing me the this space to share my story with the world, for joining this journey of the next step and helping others. Thank you for having me, and it's so nice talking to you. Great questions. Okay,
joe solway:We'll see you. Adios.
Andres Briceno:Thank you so much for joining us on another great episode of talking Rotary. We would love to hear from you. Please send us your comments and story ideas and you can share with us easily by sending us an email at feedback at talking rotary.org. Let's keep talking Rotary.
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