Tilda McKirdy, Princes Hill SC:
The RYPEN 2026 Leadership Camp, sponsored by Rotary, was an amazing and very fun experience.
I met lots of different people from many places, including the city, the country, and New South Wales. It was really interesting getting to know people with different backgrounds and hearing about their experiences.
Before going to camp, I was already very confident in my leadership skills, public speaking, and working with others. However, the camp taught me new ways to become an even better leader.
One of the biggest things I learnt was the importance of stepping back and giving other people the opportunity to lead activities and share their ideas. I also learnt how to communicate with different personalities, work as part of a team, and encourage others to feel confident in themselves.
The camp showed me that leadership is not just about being confident and taking charge, but also about supporting others and helping them reach their potential.
Overall, RYPEN helped me develop new skills, meet amazing people, and make memories that I will never forget. Thank you so much rotary for this amazing experience, and I hope to be lucky enough to continue pursuing my future adventures and experiences with you!!
Hamish Mills, Mount Alexander College:
Something i got out of the weekend that really resonated with me was when we talked about comfort zones and how they progressively get smaller as your life goes on and also how they can affect your life and stop you from doing new things that could be good for you. We also did activities that helped us step outside of our comfort zone and make our comfort zones bigger when it comes to speaking up or speaking to others.
I met lots of new people that I have been communicating with and I do plan on keeping in touch with lots of the people that were on the camp with me.
I learnt many new skills about leadership, like how when you are in a group of people and you are trying to do something depending on the situation you should listen to others for ideas, pitch your own ideas and to try different things. I learnt that speaking up is a good thing to do and that in a group people want to hear the ideas you have, I also learnt that you should speak up when you feel the need to no matter the situation, if you are in a group or you are speaking up for someone who needs help. I also learnt new ways to problem solve like setting goals and making a plan and thinking about things in order to solve any problems i may have.
I would definitely recommend the program to other students as it really helped me learn more about myself and become a better and stronger person.
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