RYLA

RYLA is Rotary's Youth Leadership camp for 18-24 year olds and is conducted globally.

Applicants are selected through demonstration of their community service, leadership and communication skills and they go through an intensive 6 day course where they are put through experiential learning and practice of communication, leadership, ethics and values and teamwork.

This year, Helen is the Vocational Services Director of our Club so finding RYLA applicants was one of her roles. She really struggled to find applicants which is crazy as the course is over $500 but the sponsoring Rotary club pays all the fees so what the applicant gets is a course really worth $5000, an all expenses paid trip where they learn about themselves, how to work with others and go away after one week with a whole network of new friends.

The camp this year was at Lake Dewar Lodge at Myrniong so she drove out there to see the set up and it was actually quite good and she was impressed! The staff out there were professional and dedicated to teaching the youth of today.

RYLA was also taught by a select group of team leaders who were all ex-RYLArians themselves so there was the youth teaching the youth and the level of their presentation and leadership skills were exceptional.

These were the leaders of tomorrow who had enthusiasm, passion and motivation to be part of a better world.

It took her a while to find a suitable candidate. After emailing family and friends and Rotarians to see if there was anyone they knew of this age group, she came up with nothing. She didn't understand why anyone would NOT want to be part of this excellent personal development course. So one day, through a lead from fellow Club Member Graeme, she contacted the local council which had a Youth Services section as she thought they may have a whole network of youth in our area to advertise and promote it to. And sure enough, they were happy and delighted that she had contacted them and now want her to let them know of other Rotary leadership programs.

They found for us an applicant, James and she quickly organised the Rotary Club to give him the cheque and did up his application forms and he was in.

He is a second year aerospace engineering student at Monash University and is an extremely busy young man. When he's not studying, he's put himself through an extra TAFE courses in welding and CAD design so he can learn the practicalities. He has done a few lessons for a pilot's course and hopes to have a career in aviation somehow. He's fascinated by planes and all things aeronautical and vying for a scholarship through the Royal Aeronautical Club to learn how to fly. And also he wants to join the Reserves or the full-time Defence Force.

Overall, he has ambition and the world is his oyster. Indeed all the youth at RYLA had the same ideals and they were motivated and enthusiastic about the program that they've been through and want to promote it to others.

One of the girls there, presented that they would like to continue the impetus and create a Rotaract Club of Monash Clayton from those people there. So it looks like we will now have a Rotaract Club (Rotary Club for 18 to 30 year olds) that will be started up from this group (and I'm sure others) will want to join.

So now, for next year's RYLA, our club has some ideas of how to get some more applicants and that's to use the RYLArians to promote it and also go to Monash University and promote it there to the students.

We should all encourage anyone who has kids or teens or knows young adults to get involved in the community leadership programs like Rotary.