RYLA again changes lives

HIS week at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp had changed his outlook on life, Caleb Muir, a 28-year-old engineer with Raytheon on Garden Island, told last week’s Palm Beach Rotary meeting.

He made friends with people he may never have associated with (and making friends through adversity),  learned about forming groups  and public speaking.

On his return to work, he took under his wing a new team member who had been struggling.  “He told me that if things did not turn around in about a week, he was going to quit,” Caleb told the meeting.  “I used tools from RYLA, listened to him and tried to help him along.”

That new team member gained a whole new attitude to his job and told the boss “that he was grateful for my help”, Caleb said.

Caleb was thanked for his intervention (and believes it helped his  yearly performance review).

Inspired by RYLA, he had attended a Rotaract meeting the previous Sunday and was considering joining. He had been deeply interested in its work in developing

countries. “I would like to contribute to that,” he said. RYLA was a really worthwhile project and he thanked the club for sponsoring his attendance.

 

 

 Trainee secondary school teacher Lauren Ford  also said her week at RYLA had changed her  life — after  pushing her to her limits.  Before the camp she knew nothing about team building, team work, effective communication and conflict resolution.   What she observed in the early days of the program led into subsequent  activities and she saw how others “processed things differently”.  “Since then there has not been a day in my life that it has not affected me,” she said.

The  week had inspired her to join Rotaract. She hoped this would help her help others and aid her further personal development.  “I thank Palm Beach Rotary for giving me the opportunity to attend RYLA,” she said.

 

NOTE: Rotaract is a global organisation that empowers students and young professionals to create positive change in their local communities and around the world. Rotaract provides unique opportunities that assist its members in becoming the business and professional leaders of tomorrow.