Skip To Main Content

Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Scholarships Announced

Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Scholarships Announced

The Steamboat Springs Rotary Club is pleased to announce the selection of six outstanding local students to receive the club’s 2024 Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA).  RYLA has a 25-year history of providing future leaders with a life-changing experience at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park this coming summer.

rotary youth leadership awards

Finn Chapman and Reese Turnipseed were chosen to receive an all-expenses paid scholarship to attend the weeklong RYLA leadership camp for current 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students.  Both attend Steamboat Springs High School.

Leah Bannister, Carson Hirning, Andrew Melzer, and Chloe Wilson will be attending the weeklong Young RYLA camp for current 7th graders.  Leah, Carson, and Chloe attend Steamboat Springs Middle School, and Andrew attends Sleeping Giant School.

The objectives of RYLA are:

  • To provide an atmosphere where conferees interact with conference staff, expert speakers, and other conferees in experiential learning.
  • To promote an environment that will provide each individual with the opportunity to learn and practice the art of leadership and teamwork.
  • To expose our youth to knowledge and methods with which to cope with the opportunities and challenges of life.
  • To promote involvement that encourages the participants to think through and arbitrate conflicts in values. These objectives are accomplished through a 5-day program that emphasizes values like personal responsibility, service and integrity and develops skills like goal setting, decision-making, teamwork, and interpersonal skills. The program is very action-oriented and includes activities like guest speakers, the RYLA Olympics, teambuilding activities, skits and group discussions on issues appropriate to this age group. The students stay in a dormitory environment and are supervised by adult Rotarians.

The Steamboat Springs Rotary Club provides its 100 members with opportunities to serve and support the local community and its youth as well as activities that contribute to better world understanding and cooperation.  For more information, go to www.steamboatrotary.com.