The Rotary Club of Blacksburg recently presented Rotary Youth Leadership Award Seminar Certificates to three officers of the Interact Club at Blacksburg High School.
Interact Clubs give young people ages 12-18 years old the chance to work together and have fun while learning about service and promoting international understanding in Rotary. Madi Lucero, Maddie DeJesus and Abby DeJesus were guests at the meeting.
The 41st Annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for District 7570 was held at The Inn at Virginia Tech. Gathered at the event were 100 students and 20 chaperones for a leadership weekend of personal development, teamwork and Rotary-centered service learning.
These three young women presented the program for the Rotary meeting and shared their experiences. The weekend began on Friday and students explored their personality traits through the “colors” assessment, giving them insight into communication and leadership styles. Madi Lucero described how finding the color to match her personality and then joining that color group helped her get to know people who were similar to her.
“With my color group, I immediately made friends,” she said.
Part of the weekend involved a speech contest where students were able to speak in front of the entire conference. Lucero said she entered the contest because she saw it as an opportunity to build her confidence. She shared an essay she wrote about The Four-Way Test which serves as an ethical guide for Rotarians to live by in their personal and professional relationships. Lucero placed third and received a $300 award.
The evening featured an interactive Murder Mystery Night. Students worked in teams to solve the fictional case of “Who Killed David Smythe?” As they worked together, they got to know each other better.
On Saturday, Maddie DeJesus shared the service project they did together. The project was Rise Against Hunger and they packaged food to give to those with food insecurity.
“I felt we made an impact with the food project,” she said.
Rotary Youth Exchange was a big part of the weekend. Students from Brazil, Germany, Japan, etc. attended. Many were in the United States as part of the Youth Exchange in local communities and were staying with host families. All three students said they really enjoyed getting to know the exchange students and have stayed in touch with their new friends.
All of the students enjoyed a Dance Party that evening and were able to exchange ideas and have a fun time together.
Abby DeJesus spoke about the last day of the event. She reflected on the weekend and having the opportunity to hang out with new friends. She said she enjoyed listening to and getting to know exchange students. Abby DeJesus also felt that preparing food for those in need was very meaningful to her.
Throughout the weekend, students demonstrated enthusiasm, leadership growth, and a genuine desire to continue serving their communities. Many expressed interest in starting more Interact Clubs, launching new school projects, and participating in Rotary Youth Exchange.
The weekend would not have been possible without the dedicated Rotarians of District 7570, whose ongoing commitment, planning, and volunteer efforts continue to make RYLA an inspiring and life-changing experience for young leaders.
Terri Lynn Howard
Rotary Club of Blacksburg
