Many of us have always wondered what goes on at the RYLA courses (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and now, thanks to Myah Sinke, we have a much better understanding.
Maya attended St. Mary's College, has a Rotarian grandfather and was sponsored by our club for the RYLA course. She now works as an assistant manager at Vodafone at Queeensgate Mall. She gave us an excellent account of her experience.
The course Maya took was held at the Silverstream Retreat, a collection of WW2 buildings hidden away on the hills near Silverstream. The aim of the course was to encourage service, growth and community. The 25 participants stayed on location and the days were long, starting at 6:45am and finishing at 9:45pm. Participants were given a "personality assessment" at the start of the course and teams were organised so that each team had a good selection of various personality types - Myah's assessment described her as orderly, logical and focussed.
Team building activities included untangling rope knots, public speaking, "mine sweeping", retrieving a can from a toxic circle, replicating a painting without words, making a music video, having a great bake-off using WelTec's commercial kitchen, a Rylathon at Days Bay, building and using a raft and visits to Adrenalin Forest (similar to the Outward Bound High Wire Commando Course), visiting Government House plus a talent show.
They were also addressed by a number of local leaders.
The course was demanding but also stimulating and rewarding. Myah talked about how much she benefited from attending the course and sincerely thanked the club for enabling her to to participate. In her own words, "I achieved, I survived, I learned, I grew, I appreciate".
Thank you Myah for showing us what our sponsorship of RYLA brings.
(Can you spot the error? The first person to contact David Gledhill with the correct answer will receive a drink of their choice! )
