RYLA Campers Told Us About Their Experience
Posted by Richard Moore
on Aug 18, 2015
Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) Campers Alex, Olivia and Brenden
Three RYLA campers and their parents and grandmother attended our meeting this morning to share with us their experience at RYLA this summer. All three campers told us that they were somewhat hesitant about attending, but by the end of the week they didn't want to leave. This year the Helena Sunrise Club sponsored two campers and the Helena noon club sponsored three campers. Alex, Olivia and Brenden all applied to come pack as Counselors next year. They are also interested in participating in an Interact Club at their high school. Interact is a club for young people ages 12-18 who want to join together to tackle the issues in their community that they care most about. They even noted that they have already recruited some of their friends to join them at an Interact club meeting.
All three told us that one of their favorite experiences during camp was the motivational speaker. The guys particularly enjoyed the dance at the end of the camp, since there were twice as many girls as there were boys at the camp!
These students also came up with a great recommendation for our RYLA camper selection interview process. They noted that it was somewhat intimidating for them to go into the interview with a bunch of "old people" the only other ones in the room. They suggested that one of the RYLA campers a previous camp should be a member of the interview team.
One of the parents shared with us that applying for camp was a great experience for her son. It was the first time that he had to fill out an applciation form and to be interviewed for something.
