Six high school students from Kent recently participated in the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Northwest program after their selection by the Rotary clubs of Kent and Covington.

The award recognizes local students for their capacity to be community leaders and prior dedication to community service, according to a June 26 Kent Rotary Youth Leadership Award press release. The conference was June 7-10 at YMCA Camp Colman in Longbranch, an unincorporated community in Pierce County on the Key Peninsula.

The students chosen from Kent schools were Alexis Gross, Kentlake High School; Elshaday Baye, Manas Sankalp, and Christopher Tan of Kentwood High School; and Ann Marie Hamblin and Kathleen Nguyen of Kentridge High School.

Selected students receive a scholarship to attend the RYLA Northwest program, one of the longest-running RYLA programs in North America.

Each year, Rotary Clubs from Districts 5020 and 5030 (King, Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallum counties in the United States and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada) sponsor high school sophomores and juniors to attend the four-day conference focusing on leadership, team building and community service.

A total of 104 students were selected to attend the 2023 conference.

Through the course of the program, students took part in personal development activities and team building exercises that challenged them to step outside their comfort zones, practice new leadership skills and learn about community engagement, according to the press release. The RYLA attendees also heard from local leaders about leading during times of adversity, the importance of diversity and accessibility, and the benefits of community engagement and service.

The RYLA program is organized by Rotarian volunteers and executed by young leaders ranging from 18 to 26, all of whom are alumni of Rotary youth programs. The program currently has one counselor who graduated from local high schools, Leilani Nahaku (Kentlake 2020).

Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.4 million business, professional and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and include members of all cultures, races, genders, and creeds. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.

If you would like to nominate a local high school student to attend in 2024, please contact Kate Matos at kate.serve@gmail.com.