Rotary Program: 8/4/04

Program Chairperson: Seema Sachdeva

Speaker(s): RYLA Students

The Pikeville Rotary Club today celebrates one year of sponsorship of the RYLA program in the local High Schools. Seema Sachdeva is the RYLA chairperson for our club and comes today to introduce the students who have participated in the program. RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and is made up of students whose age is 14 through 18 and another group from 19 through 30. Seema related how that as she and her husband returned from the Rotary International Convention, they were both burdened to start a RYLA group. When they approached the Rotary Board, it was approved and the funds to start the program was appropriated. It was decided that the project to work on would be computer literacy with senior citizens, but getting the seniors to come to the local library proved to be a problem. That is when Angie Owens, director of the Parkview Nursing Home came to Seema and offered to let the teens fulfill their project with the residents at the Shelby Valley facility. Unfortunately there were no computers or a DSL connection to use there. Darrell Maynard then came to their rescue by donating the modem and the connection so that laptops could be used to complete their project. At this point, Seema introduced each of the participants and awarded them a certificate of completion for their participation in RYLA. They were each given an opportunity to tell how being in the RYLA program made a difference in their lives.

Katelyn Childers is a junior at Pikeville High School. She said that she joined RYLA because it was an excellent way to give back to the community that had been so wonderful to her by helping others. She has also learned many leadership skills and gave her an opportunity to use her time more productively. Diamond Mullins is currently a tenth grader at Pikeville High School. She remarked that she has learned so much about helping others by being in the RYLA program. By helping the elderly, she in turn learned a lot about patience and compassion. Shilpa Sachdeva is beginning her freshman year at Pikeville High School this year. Since her parents are so active in Rotary, she heard about RYLA and thought it would be a good way to give back to the community. She said she learned so much by teaching the seniors such things as e-mail and powerpoint, so that they could make their own greeting cards and send them to friends and family members. Max Smith is a junior at Pikeville High School. He had never heard of RYLA until this year, but wanted to join as soon as he heard what it was all about. He said he valued most the relationships they developed with the seniors and the things he learned from listening to them tell about their lives. Dustin Potter is the son of Reed and Misty Potter and came to be a part of the RYLA club through his Dad’s participation in Rotary. He says he had a lot of fun and learned a great deal about older people as he is usually nervous around them. He also said he would like to continue with the RYLA program for a long time. Jessica Forsyth was also presented with a certificate of completion, but did not speak to the audience. Three other teens participated in the program, but were not in attendance today, so Seema promised to get their certificates to them later. Thanks Seema for the fine job the RYLA students have done this year. We hope you have continued success next year as well. - JMC.