Eight local high school students, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area, shared their recent experiences attending the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp with Lake Houston Rotarians. RYLA is an intensive leadership experience where students develop their skills as a leader while having fun, making connections and lasting friendships.
Eight local high school students, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area, shared their recent experiences attending the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp during the club’s June 29th luncheon meeting at the Lake Houston Family YMCA in Kingwood.
RYLA is an intensive leadership experience where students develop their skills as a leader while having fun, making connections and lasting friendships. Here’s what this year’s attendees had to say about the experience:
“I enjoyed the team building with the hula hoops. It forces you to listen to everyone on your team,” Amanda T., Atascocita High. “It will help me in the future.”
“You learn how to communicate to a group no matter how large or how small it is,” Sofia C., Atascocita High. “I was surprised to make strong connections in a short period of time.”
“I wasn’t expecting to make friends but I was happy that I did,” Aarelyn S. Humble High. “I learned being a leader means being there for everyone else, not yourself.”
“I don’t like camping … but this was the best camping ever! It’s the only camp I’ve ever liked,” Evelyn N., Kingwood High. “It helped me grow closer to people. I don’t talk a lot and I made a lot of friends.”
“It creates an environment to express ideas and opinions,” Briana M., Klein Collins High. “It helped me to speak up and to gain confidence. You’re more capable than you think you are.”
“I liked the team building exercises. We learned how to build a team, Vincent G., Klein Oak High. “We have a chance to change the world.”
“I learned a leader has to step back and listen sometimes,” Myron C., Summer Creek High. “I learned a lot.”
“I didn’t know what to expect but when I saw the camp, I got excited,” Donald K., Summer Creek High. “The ice breakers were great.”
The RYLA camp for Rotary District 5890 (Houston area) is held every Spring at Carolina Creek Camp near Huntsville, TX. Local students interested in attending RYLA in 2023 should contact Susan Brodbeck at Lake Houston Rotary or the Rotary Club closest to where they attend school.
Among the eight RYLA students were six Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) students in this year’s student exchange program. Lake Houston Rotary and the Houston E-Club are sponsoring these six “outbound” students in the Rotary International’s student youth exchange.
Rotary clubs have been sending students abroad for over 40 years with the aim of promoting international understanding and friendship. The program asks participants to be open to new ideas and experiences, have a willingness to adapt and to gain new perspectives, and take the opportunity to make new friends and learn new ways of living.
The outbound RYE students will be living with host families and attending school in Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, South Korea, Brazil, and Sweden. A separate set of international students will be arriving in the Lake Houston area to do the same here. For more information about Rotary Youth Exchange please visit www.RYEHouston.com.
Incoming 2022-23 Rotary District Governor Mindi Synder attended the meeting to show her support for RYLA and RYE. She spoke briefly about supporting youth projects like RYLA and RYE and to promote RI’s theme for this year, “Imagine Rotary” and its “seven areas of focus.”
Club international chair, Felippe LaRotta, took a few moments to provide a final report on the club’s and district’s sponsorship of training firefighters in Columbia. Our training of 140 firefighters impacted 33 towns and approximately 100,000 people. (Editor’s note: More information will be reported on this at a later date.)
Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area members and guests meet at 11:45 a.m. Wednesdays for their weekly lunch meeting at the Lake Houston Family YMCA, 2420 West Lake Houston Pkwy. in Kingwood.
The Summer Creek Satellite Club meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 8:30 a.m., at Generation Park 3rd floor Nimble Office Suite, 250 Assay St., Houston.
For more information about Rotary or membership, visit www.LHARotary.com or search for our Facebook page @LakeHoustonAreaRotary.