The sun set on RYLA 2022 on Sunday, April 3. I believe we can say that “a good time was had by all.” Read more to learn about the activities and view photos.
The RYLA team hosted 33 High School sophomores and juniors at YMCA Camp Kitaki in Louisville, NE. Jason Smith was our much-appreciated camp connection as he is the Executive Director of Camp Kitaki and member of Lincoln East Rotary Club.
Campers checked in on Friday, April 1st at noon. District Governor Carol Horner was the Camp Host for the day. She did a great overview of all things Rotary and led the campers in an ice-breaker. Dr. Franklin Thompson, Director of Human Rights and Relations for the City of Omaha was our first speaker, sharing his experiences on growing up in Omaha and how leadership became the path he chose for his life.
Following Dr. Thompson, campers took turns exploring their personality types with Rotarian Jen Leverett, and participating in the low challenge course, led by the Camp Kitaki staff.
Following dinner, Howard Epstein, Matt Darling, Lisa Strutzel, and Louri Sullivan, all graduates of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy gave a memorable and motivating presentation on how even young people can think about philanthropy and ways to give back to their communities. Gretchen Bren closed the evening re-counting to the teens her travels to Africa with stories and pictures of her helping eradicate polio in the world. The evening ended with a campfire and an energetic game of Gaga.
District Governor-nominee Kathryn Schubert was our Saturday host. The campers started the day hearing Amy Campagna, Environmental Education Coordinator for Pottawattamie Conservation working from the Hitchcock Nature Center in Honey Creek, Iowa, speak about her experiences with conservation and learning how important our environment is to our ability to live in this world. This presentation gave our campers the needed springboard to begin their weekend project, “Protect the Environment.”
Following lunch, campers heard from Sarah McGinnis who shared her work as a law enforcement officer and advocate for victims of human trafficking. While the topic was sobering, the stories and statistics were very eye-opening and emphasized why this has been an important initiative of District 5650.
The afternoon was spent alternating between working on their presentations and leadership skill activities that included the Challenge Course and working as a team to build a giant slingshot. Prior to dinner we were all entertained by Dwayne Johnson’s improv group, Big Canvas. There were lots of laughs which relaxed everyone prior to the end of the evening “dance,” where the campers knew the words to every song!
Randy Hawthorne welcomed the campers on Sunday morning. Following a breakfast of Belgian Waffles, campers, in their designated groups, presented their weekend projects on “Protect the Environment.” The adult Rotarians were very impressed with not only their technology skills, but also how very smart these young adults are about researching a topic and presenting their findings. Everyone gathered for a group photo prior to leaving camp and said their sad farewells to all of the friends they made over the weekend.
