8th Grade Leadership Camp Grads

Five eighth-grade students were selected to attend the Rotary 8^th Grade Leadership Camp held in September.  They were Lydia Morgan, Rebecca Leonhardt, Kai Hall, Miles Rubalcava-Cunan, and Brett Beason.  While they expressed they had some apprehension when they went, they came back excited by what they learned about themselves and what it means to be a leader.

 

Susan Leonhardt, our Youth Service Chair, asked each of the youth about what they learned.  Lydia said it was that it’s not that you “have to”, but that you “get to” give everything to something you think is important to achieve.  For Rebecca it was “YOGOWYPI” – “You Only Get Out What You Put In”.  Kai realized that there are a lot of people who look at things differently and I don’t need to have them do it my way.  Miles said it’s important to treat people fairly.  And Brett commented that he was surprised that ‘we could get so much out of something so short.’

 

When asked about a ‘special experience,’ Lydia talked about the Ropes Course and having to put your trust in someone you have only just met in order to get across.  Rebecca also spoke of learning to trust people.  She said it was good to learn that everyone has the same things going on in their lives.  Kai spoke of meeting Thomas from Ione who was a ‘real country guy’ (cowboy?) and partnering with him on the Ropes Course after knowing him for only an hour.  Miles liked meeting other attendees when they arrived.  Brett said it was being in small groups of 7-10 people and sharing ‘stuff’ you didn’t really want to share.  He said it helped him to be more open.

 

How will they put this training to use in the future?  Lydia said they met and want to bring their class together.  They’ve had one meeting where they paired people together and played games they learned at camp to help them get to know each other.  Rebeccca said she wants to break down the stereotypes caused by students being assigned to different classes.  She said students tend to think of them as being the ‘smart students’ and the ‘slow students.’  She also indicated that she wants to become a leader in school and in her life beyond.  Kai wants to work on leading by example, and Miles wants to bring people together to work and not have separate groups on campus.  Brett wants to lead by example.  He said that he learned you don’t want to be the person on top pulling others along, but to be on the bottom encouraging others. 

 

In the end, they all thanked the club for the opportunity and agreed that “it was a great experience.”