Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people.

RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to:

  • Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth
  • Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
  • Encourage leadership of youth
  • Recognize young people who are rendering service to their communities

District 7190's RYLA Program was created to help students that have untapped leadership potential. If you know of a student in the 11th grade that you look at and think, "That student could be a great leader if only." then our RYLA Program is for them.

Most students are fully sponsored by a Rotary club in the area. We also have had students sponsored by their school or another group. Take a look at our program guide (downloadable from link at left) for this year and see what you think. If you are interested, there is an application at the end.

Here is what students think of our RYLA program :

"We have been taught that in order to be a good leader, you need to be able to listen to the ideas of others and know when to take action." - Julia Larson

"I have met so many new people and learned a ton about leadership and how to be an effective leader." - Katie Beecher

"The most beneficial skill RYLA has taught me is organization, since that session I have been able to take control of all my class assignments and really improve on my grades." - Taira Mandy

"It helped me get organized a lot better and because of that my grades went up and I was able to get a lot more work done in less time." - Jordan Twardy

"This might seem corny, but it's taught me the importance of teamwork, communication, and how much more someone can accomplish by using those things than by themselves." - Danielle Ward

"The unique format of monthly meetings allows us to apply the things we have learned and also share progress on our individual activities. Unlike many seminars we use the skills we learn in games and team building exercises that enhance and reinforce our learning." - Briana Thomas