RYLA Leadership Camp

This week our club had the pleasure to hear from Sam Little and Neha Shah about their experience at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) Leadership Camp in Bastrop, TX.  Each year Temple Rotary selects and sponsors two high school students to attend a leadership camp put on by Rotary.  This year's winners were Sam Little, a junior at Temple High, and Neha Shah, a junior at Belton New Tech.  They participated in many activities at camp including: trek, rafting, treasure hunt, jazzercise (to wake up), night hike, and a talent show.  Both Neha and Sam said they were most impacted by participating in an activity called "No Cliques".  Designed to discourage stereotypes, this activity provided a platform for students to share struggles they were experiencing in their lives.  To Neha, this experience revealed that everyone wears masks, and because of this, you never know what people are going through.  Sam was struck by how friends he had only known for a few days were opening up the way they were.  Other lessons learned were: you do not have to lead from out front; it is always good to look at the bigger picture; it is important to work as a team; and communicating is key to being successful in a team.  These lessons, among others, left a meaningful impression on Sam and Neha. They wrapped up their presentation by thanking the Temple Rotary Club, especially Jennifer Graham, for making this week possible.