RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) student Matt Zavoral
Vicky Boatwright introduced our guest speaker who had attended RYLA camp this last year representing our Club. She said that Matt Zavoral is a Del Campo High School senior, hoping to attend Stanford or Brigham Young University in the future. Matt is an Eagle Scout, the Editor-in-Chief of the Del Campo Roar Newspaper, and the Director of Marketing for Kids Helping Kids Sacramento, a local nonprofit organization. However, he spends a majority of his time playing Varsity volleyball and basketball for Del Campo High School and his club teams, trying to get a spot on college rosters. He hopes to make as big of an impact as he can in his community now, as he will be leaving to serve a two-year, LDS (Mormon) Mission in the fall of this year.
Matt started by thanking all of us for inviting him to speak and began a very interesting slide show chronicling his experiences at the Camp, going day by day. On the first day, Monday, they traveled to Portola where the Camp is situated and he saw the cabins, bathrooms and showers. Monday was a day of orientation and it started at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday there were workshops, square/line dancing, and they got their own personalized T-shirts. His read "I am the Conqueror" on it (see picture, left).
They took tests - what they called "Energenetics" in which a profile of each student emerged, showing "types of thinking", conceptual, analytical, social. Matt found he was balanced in all three types of thinking, most are dominant in one type.
On Wednesday they played mind games - Olympics, Matt said it was lots of fun. Thursday there was a "ropes" course over the "Wall" a 12 ft wall that was a metaphor for "the wall in your life". Everyone helped each other to overcome obstacles and become "superheros". On Friday there were making bikes for kids. There were 96 campers and they did "board breaking", breaking a board with your hands. And something like hearing the worst in yourself and coming to terms with what holds you back.
On Saturday, Matt got his graduation certificate and wrote on backs of other students, things to remember. Matt said that he has kept friendships with his camp mates and what he has learned is respect for yourself and others - who I am, How I think, How to work effectively in a group - that different people can blend together. And most of all CONFIDENCE. Matt told us the story of how he went to a dance, after his experience of the Camp and got 11 phone numbers and 3 notes on his car from young ladies!
President Thorman thanked Matt for his outstanding presentation and told him that, in honor of his visit to our Club, we would be donating a book to the Carmichael Library.
Matt Zavoral (left)
President Dave Thorman (right)
Editor's Note: Matt is an exceptional young man who came to our Club alone, but socialized effortlessly with us old guys and ladies. He gave a well planned out Power Point lecture with humor.
Many of us can only wish that we could have had that amount of confidence at his age...