RYLA SPEAKERS
Dan Ludwig and Phil D'Angelo were our sponsored candidates to RYLA this year (which we all learned last week stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). They spent a week in June at the State University at Fredonia to gather with other like minded young people, and learn a little about life, business, giving back, and their roles in being leaders in their comminities. Currently, Dan is a full time student at Canisius College, and Phil is actively working as a skilled trades welder for Dekker Company in Cheektowaga.
Both of these young people were very explicit in their descriptions of the time they spent at RYLA. From the food, to the fellowship and good times they had with their fellow attendees, they expressed to us their great experiences. They learned such things as public speaking, something neither had ever done before, and from their presentation, it's obviously something they learned very well.
Through various activities they learned how to perform in a team setting, both as leaders and followers, something they will use all of their lives. They also were able to hone their social skills through interaction with the other attendees.
One of the biggest things they learned was responsibility, and culminating all they learned into a Rotary thank you dinner which they totally put on from the reception of guests, to the food, and finally to the entertainment of the guests. Since the end of the program, they have kept up communications with many of the other attendees, and even attended another event with many of them in Rochester.
Both are now active within the Rotary community; Dan is now a Rotaract member in a club at Canisius which he helped to launch which is sponsored by the Buffalo Sunrise club. While Phil hasn't sought active participation within Rotary, he will just as soon as his job allows.
Editorially speaking, this is probably one of the best ways we can spend some of the funds we raise. To give young people the opportunity to learn about life, and then to see the fruits of that investment is just fantastic, and we must keep doing it. Start thinking about candidates you would like us to sponsor for next year's RYLA, and let Vicki know.