Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RLYA)
Annually, the Rotary Club of Lebanon provides tuition to send students from Lebanon High School to District 7850’s Rotary Leadership Academy at Northern Vermont University in Lyndon, VT. This year our students were Georgia Gaffney and Benjamin “Benji” Madory. In addition, our Rotary District RYLA Team invited back Nora Burns and Shaashwat “Lavi” Halwawala back to be junior counselors at the Academy.

Lavi and Nora

Georgia and Benji
This year, our District hosted student from District 7870 (Southern NH and Southern VT). Over 70 students were in attendance.
Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotarians in our districts. The goal is to help students develop their skills as a leader while having fun and making connections. We want these students to return to their high schools as stronger student leaders.
Activities are planned to help the students:
- Build communication and problem-solving skills
- Discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in their school and/or community
- Learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers, and peer mentors
- Unlock their potential to turn motivation into action
- Have fun and form lasting friendships
Norah and Lavi did a brief overview of their training for RYLA as couselors, and how they interacted with students during the weekend. They each were given the responsibility to oversee a team. They arrived a day early and got to do some of the activities that were planned for the RYLArians, as the counselors needed to work well as a team too. They also recognized each student at the end of the conference with a “Plate Award”…a paper plate that listed the major traits they brought to their team as a leader.
Georgia and Benji then reviewed all the activities:
- They were divided into teams. Their first task was to create a team flag (based on a type of fish, e.g. goldfish and blue gill) and then work as a team to write and learn their team cheer.
- One activity required them to do problem-solving, team building, while using verbal or non-verbal skills and overcoming barriers to complete the tasks they were engaged in.
- They had some interactive classroom sessions led by up-and-coming youth leaders…one had worked at a school in Zimbabwe.
- They explored their styles of leadership, and how their style impacted working with other people who are “like them”. At times it can lead to an inability to complete a task because they focused too much on details; and for others the task wasn’t well done because they were less detailed oriented. They learned that often the task gets done more completely and efficiently when different people with different personality traits are combined into one the group.
- They participated in exercises that challenged them to consider how physical obstacles (loss of sight, loss of use of a limb, inability to hear) can impact completion of task.
- They worked with the organization, “Rise Against Hunger” and prepared 10,000 meals. They will be delivered to individuals dealing with food insecurity.
- They all were required to participate in a talent show, independently or as part of a group, or work behind the scenes to help make sure the show flowed evenly.
Both Benji and Georgia indicated that since they returned from RLYA they have used their newly honed leadership skills to help them when they are a part of a Various groups.
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