I knew nothing about what RYLA was or what the youth rotary club was when this topic was brought up. My dad told me about his experience as a Rotarian in college, being the leader, and getting sponsors to let me go to competitions and events that the Rotary club had held but, I didn’t think of going to one of these events when he told me these stories. When he brought up how someone had told him about how they were part of a Rotary Club here in Cary and were wondering if I was interested in going to the Leadership Camp at Camp Oak Hill during spring break I was totally surprised and it sounded like a cool idea. There was an application process that delegates first went through since there was a limited amount of space for the people attending the camp; it included a form, a description of what you have done, and if you were vaccinated. I got accepted rather quickly, with a postcard in the mail, and I was surprised and nervous to go to the camp.
My dad and I were invited to join the Cary Rotary Club at their Friday meetings as parents were not allowed to drive the delegates up to Camp Oak Hill. When we reached we were instructed to set up at our assigned cabins, then we would meet up for our first activity. After the introduction activities organized by the counselors, and the leader explaining how it was good to step out of your comfort zone into your stretch zone, we met up with our assigned mini groups for the weekend; mine was the Mighty Ducks. Each group had assigned counselors from previous years, who had the same experience we were having now. It was amazing to hear their experience, while also hearing their suggestions on how we could do some of the activities. Our first day encompassed mostly an introduction day, what we should get out of this experience, and an all delegates activity. We all were able to find out what exactly our MBTI personality letters were through an activity organized by RYLA; we did the Myers-Briggs assessment that told him that I had the letters INFJ, Introvert, iNtuition, Feeling, and Judging, and were able to see that my best fit career was a humanity worker or a teacher.
The second day was the most eventful since we were able to do many leadership activities with our mini groups, so we could build up our sportsmanship and teamwork to do well as a team. Some of the activities were a Trust Fall from about a 6-foot plank into the hands of your teammates. There was also the Spider Wall where with the help of two other delegates you had to get up a flat 12-foot wall, with no foot holes, and grab the arms of other delegates at the top to hoist you up, and an ‘Acid’ River activity that involved these bricks that we had to use two planks to build a path to the other bricks, and if you touched the leaves/ground you would be blindfolded for the rest of that challenge. We did group discussions right after each activity, and at the end of each day, so we could talk about how the activity showed leadership, what we improved on, and what our team did well in accomplishing.
It was amazing to work and meet other delegates of the same age, and the same area, who were able to experience the same things we did. It was quite scary to be away from my parents for the first time, but it set up a situation where you had the company of people you didn’t know but were able to become close friends with many other delegates by the end of the Leadership Retreat at Camp Oak Hill.
Let's Do Our Part 