Rotary Youth Leadership

<p>Anyone heard of this before?
Is this legit?
Is it seen as a good leadership opportunity/position?
Also, what are you supposed to do for it?
Thanks</p>

<p>If this is for the 3 day leadership camp, I went my junior year. I was interviewed by my local rotary club for like 10 minutes and then they chose a couple people to send to the camp (basically a $300 scholarship). </p>

<p>The camp's structure: I don't know if it depends on each Rotary district, but in mine, everyone is divided into groups called "families" and you have two adult leaders and they are your "mom" and "dad". You do everything with your family. The camp is so much fun, but if your family sucks then they are kind of a drag. A bunch of people in my family thought the whole camp was really stupid and they were really uninterested and "above it" the whole time, so that was weird. But I didn't let it affect me ......... </p>

<p>Activities range depending on which rotary camp you go to. Mine had an obstacle course/ ropes course called boojum (which was one of the best things i've ever done), dance, campfire, etc. The dance was better than any high school dance I've been to. The whole camp was centered around touch-feely, sentimental discussion and bonding. Some people like that, some don't.</p>

<p>I suggest you try out for the award. It could potentially "change your life" and even if it doesn't, it's a great experience and you will make a lot of friends.</p>

<p>^alright, thanks! Yea, it's for the 3 day leadership camp. How are the interviews? What do they ask? Also, are the essays/app important?
How hard do you think it was to get in?
Thanks again</p>

<p>i've heard of it but have no clue what it's about</p>

<p>The interview was fine. Three rotary club members and one RYLA alumni (was a senior at the high school) interviewed me in a room with the ASB coordinator and my English teacher who organizes the RYLA thing at our school. They each asked me a question. Stupid stuff like Where do you see yourself in 10 years? And What does leadership mean to you? and What would you do if you could never fail? Etc etc. Sentimental BS. They ended up picking all the ASB kids who tried out. You know, outgoing leadership types. I am not in ASB though. My application was ordinary. My essay was pure BS - the rotary club seems to like that kind of crap. My rotary club was a WASPy, pretentious group of wealthy lawyers and doctors who sent me to basically a brainwashing camp. But it was still fun. Haha.</p>

<p>After the camp, they made us go to lunch with the whole rotary club and we spoke about our experiences. Really fake speeches and stuff. I like the experience better than analyzing and discussing and talking about it, if that makes sense. Despite the few superficial aspects, it was a good experience and I always recommend it to people.</p>

<p>I did this!</p>

<p>Yeah, it's legit. I guess it's a pretty good leadership opportunity. I mean, I didn't come out of it with any drastic changes, but I learned some lessons that I still remember from time to time. I didn't have a "family" like anthology did; we had a 7-person group and then a group facilitator/leader. It was mostly a mix of activities during the two days (trust falls, indoor rock climbing, communication workshops, teamwork activities, and then things like a discussion about racism and labels/personal identification and conflict-solving presentations, etc.) and overall it was a pretty decent experience for me. During the evenings we had something called "RYLA'ed Up" which was basically just social time in the gym - cup games, hand games, human knot, basketball, dancing, etc. etc. On the third day you pack up, go to the concluding ceremony, have ice cream, and leave.</p>

<p>The interview wasn't hard as long as you present yourself as an intelligent person. The really "outgoing leadership types" weren't picked at my school, though, it was more the quiet leaders or the people who had leadership potential I guess. Which makes sense; if you're already a big leader there's less of a need to go to a leadership conference.</p>

<p>Definitely go for it. The food was pretty good too.</p>

<p>When do you apply for it and when is the camp?</p>

<p>How would you guys suggest I practice for the interview??
I'm not that good at public speaking and being interviewed...what would I have to wear?
I know to use eye contact, be interested, show passion, etc..but what else is important?
Thanks!</p>

<p>Smile, shake hands, wear nice dressy clothing (if you are a guy, the guys at my school wore slacks and a dress shirt, tie, etc), and I suggest that you prepare beforehand for the questions they will ask you but do not come across sounding like you prepared the answers in the actual interview. It should be like conversation between friends. Not incredibly formal, but not too informal either. Be comfortable, too. Good luck!</p>