District 5810 is sending four participants to International RYLA in Birmingham, England this June. Sly Majid, Caresse Bucchan, Jeff Egger, and Becca Lowder will be heading to Birmingham, England June 18-21 for several information- and activity-packed days of learning. These four participants are by no means the first District 5810 has sent to International.
According to Mark Healy, the concept for International RYLA was born right here in North Texas. Mark has been directly involved in five of the seven International RYLAs to date, and has watched with pride as many alumni from District 5810 have gone to participate. Says Mark, “…with the help of Sonny Brown, the concept was put into action in San Antonio…where Beth Digby, Scooter Ward, Emily Parker, Meredith Reed and Michael Suter represented our district.” Since its inaugural year, International RYLA has played host to many young leaders from our district, including Emily Nelson Spivey, who went to Australia, Lauren Whitehead, Laura Rojo Eddy, and Leslie DeMattia, who all went to Chicago, and Carolyn McLaughlin, Samamtha Zorn, and Kit Sheppard, who all went to Sweden.*
Leslie DeMattia, past participant, truly enjoyed her time in Chicago, as “RYLA international…was an amazing experience that bonded a group of us RYLA 5810-ers while strengthening our global leadership skills and abilities!” Carolyn also enjoyed her time, as it was, “…an eye opening experience that influenced my global perspective. It was incredible to see so many individuals from different cultures that typically clash in other environments come together and educate each other on global issues and opinions. The opportunity to discuss problems in a cooperative setting was a lesson in respect and tolerance that I will never forget.” Obviously, Sly, Caresse, Jeff, and I have a whole heck of a lot to which to look forward! Our anticipation is spoken well by Caresse, who comments how “…good [it feels] to represent and give back to an organization and most especially District 5810 that has given me so much.” Jeff agrees, noting that he is “excited and honored to represent our district at International RYLA.”
International RYLA is a program supported and run by Rotary International. However, unlike our local RYLA program, the participant field is open to students age eighteen to thirty who have previous experience with Rotary or RYLA. All participants must have a working understanding of English. Tradition has held that the camp alternates between the States and a location abroad every year — the past few years have upheld that pattern, as last year’s conference was in Los Angeles, and this year’s will be in Birmingham. Birmingham will also be hosting the International Rotary Convention immediately following the RYLA program. All International RYLA participants are invited to attend, and this year especially many probably will, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be a keynote speaker.
Anyone interested in learning about participant’s personal experiences should feel free to contact those individuals. Anyone interested in attending International RYLA in the future should contact Mark Healy.
*If this is not an exhaustive list, and you have attended International RYLA, please email rebeccalowder1@gmail.com and we will gladly issue a correction.
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