Our speakers for March 29 - Brett Anderson and Beth Sohn

Dr. Bill Spellman facilitated a presentation on RYLA, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.  RYLA is a leadership training camp for teenagers.  This year it will be from April 19^th through April 22^nd in Ojai, California.

Brett, a junior in high school and Co-President of Interact, attended RYLA last year.  He said it was a great experience that he would recommend to others.  Of the many highlights of his experience, Brett said he really enjoyed the guest speakers, and the ability to meet so many new people.  He also fondly recalled a game in which twelve students are told that they must go into a shelter to be saved.  Once in the shelter, there is only enough food for six people.  The group then has to determine who gets the food. 

Beth, a senior in high school and Co-President of Interact, attended RYLA in her sophomore year.  She also had nothing but wonderful things to say about the experience.  Beth stated that teenagers are often portrayed negatively in the media.  She feels that this portrayal is definitely not accurate especially after meeting all the great people at RYLA.  Beth says she learned the importance of not taking people at face value.  She said that you just never know what a person has been through and what valuable contributions they may have.  The only thing that she would change is to have more free time to get to know people.  At the same time, she would not want to remove any of the programs in order to get more free time.  What a quandary! 

Chuck Yunker said a few words about the changes he sees in students after they attend RYLA.  He recalls that Brett was very introverted prior to RYLA, and that after RYLA, he came out of his shell.  Chuck also told us about the impact RYLA had on his daughter.  When he picked her up at the end of RYLA, she started crying when he asked her how it was.  She quickly told him that they were happy tears, and that it was just a very emotional weekend.

On another note, Beth is looking for a summer job.  You can contact her through Chuck Yunker.

Thank you Bill, Chuck, Brett, and Beth for sharing your experiences.

Deborah A. Perkins