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RYLA - Katie Brzozowski

Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA)

Today we had an enjoyable guest speaker, our most recent RYLA student, Katie Brzozowski. She was introduced by next-door neighbor and our esteemed member, Jay Boatwright. He said that Katie and family had moved in next door about a year ago - so that when the opportunity to send a student to RYLA camp came up, they thought of Katie and asked her for an application. Now the rest is history and Katie has completed RYLA and has come to our Club to tell us about her experiences. Katie gave us a nice slide show of her week at Camp. Katie said that she went to the Camp with no expectations but found that it was a strenuous week - go,go, going all the time. She wrote down on a rock what she wanted to accomplish - to be able to take chances and to accept her vulnerability. Students formed groups and Katie's was named Chip, Chip Monks - C squared. They each kept journals of what went on. They were challenged by "Mind Olympics", and they came up with a head band and a Chip Monk's costume and had a good time. On Wednesday they had a "ropes course". One challenge was to leap out in mid air and touch an object, it took a lot of trust - a real "leap of faith". They had the experience of greeting younger kids and helping them with things, and the last night wrote about what they learned - so Katie wrote: I will not let people judge me and give attribute to herself as "I am me". At night they would enjoy songs, put on theater dramas - fun. At RYLA camp, Katie found some wonderful, interesting friends and after their shared experience, met for a good time together. What Katie says she brought home from Camp was more confidence, realizing the power of people connections and you don't have to be the loudest to be a leader. President Dick gave Katie a gift, a Rotary Token medal and said that in honor of her talk, a book will be donated to the Carmichael Library (subsidiary of the Sacramento Public Library). Pictures below:

Jeff, Anne, and Katie Brzozowski, Jay and Vickie Boatwright, Dick Bauer

left: Member Karen Munsterman, Guest Melody Sipes, and President Dick Bauer; right: George Abraham's "Most Outrageous Award" for car design from the District Conference (he is proud of it) He brought it to the meeting to show it off! But he was missing the car.

Service above Self