Merriana Parker, a junior at Grace Christian Academy and Ty Jones, a junior at Bainbridge High School were guest speakers at Rotary this week where they reported on their attendance last summer at RYLA, Rotary Youth Leadership Award.
RYLA is a weekend camp available to members of the high school Rotary’s Interact Club. There they learn leadership and responsibility issues.
Jones commented about the first speaker, saying, “She lived back in the 60s and told us about all the things we are studying about in our textbooks now.” This comment evoked a great deal of laughter from Rotary members.
Different camp speakers addressed the following issues:
• Learning about and accepting people of different cultures.
• Breaking down the barriers in conflict resolution, and learning how to compromise peacefully.
• A retired Marine led team building activities, teaching how to learn to trust others.
• The main speaker addressed how to step forward and take charge of a situation without becoming a dictator.
Both of the students said they enjoyed the experience, thanked the Rotary members for the opportunity, and said they would recommend it to others.
When asked why the local Rotary has a hard time finding students to attend, Jones replied, “A lot of them have never heard of it. You have to get the word out and make it more selective and harder to get in. Then they will be interested in attending.”