Students gain leadership experience at camp

Ashley Gronlund, Sasha White, and Jessica Engstrom, seniors at Superior High School, recently described what they learned about leadership and themselves last summer when they attended Camp RYLA — Rotary Youth Leadership Award.

The three students, along with Brian Glonek, who was not able to attend the program, were sponsored by the Superior Rotary Club to attend the program at the University of Minnesota Crookston campus.

The one-week leadership camp features well-known speakers, group discussions and challenging physical activities. RYLA participants learn more about themselves and team building by exchanging ideas, opinions and plans with other young people. Through the exchange of ideas, opinions and plans, they learn how to manage and lead community service projects and discuss effective and appropriate strategies for resolving family, social and professional conflicts. In addition, camp participants become familiar with Interact, a Rotary sponsored service club for secondary school students, and Rotary International programs and scholarship opportunities.

Gronlund said that RYLA participants were grouped into families of eight.

“We talked about our group values and standards, and this gave me a better understanding of group and family dynamics,” Gronlund said. “My Ryla family made me more open-minded and non-judgmental.”

“This was a real growth experience for me,” said White.

Engstrom said that learning about different leadership styles taught her about leading in different ways.

“We were able to apply our team building and leadership skills to real life situations,” Engstrom said. All three students agreed attending RYLA was a tremendous experience filled with learning, fun, and opportunities to forge new friendships. Gronlund plans to apply for a junior facilitator position at Camp RYLA in the future.

Typically, students selected to attend Camp RYLA have completed their sophomore or junior year in high school. The Superior Rotary Club pays all fees for the students it selects to participate in RYLA. Students with a solid academic record and involvement in school activities such as athletics, fine arts, government and non-school-related activities and work experience, are encouraged to apply to attend RYLA. Information is available at www.campryla.org. and from Angela Johnson who coordinates RYLA applications and advises the Interact Club at Superior High School.

For information, go to www.superiorrotary.com

Tags: community, youth