By: Teri Muse

The energy level at our meeting rose significantly with the RYLA students back from camp, on-fire and excited to run our meeting. The students shared with us the different activities they experienced such as personality tests, the trust fall, Lego communication lab, cultural diversity activity, ethics lab and the Egg Drop. The students shared how each of these activities helped them build confidence, appreciate differences in each other and learn about the importance of ethics and service to the community.
The students also shared how they were inspired by the keynote speakers — one who was a deaf comedian and another who developed lung cancer while in college. The students were touched by how the speakers overcome great challenges in their life yet persevered and chose to share their experiences and make a difference in the world.
At the end of their presentation the students each shared their thoughts on how RYLA affected them. Here is a sampling of their responses:
• Gave me more confidence
• Taught me networking is important
• Made me a better leader
• Not all answers can be found in a book
• Taught me compassion
• Thought provoking
• Life changing
• Inspirational

It is evident that RYLA is a very good investment in our future!