Rotary Club of Plimmerton
Our Club recently sponsored two impressive young women to RYLA 2023. They are seen here enjoying dessert before they gave brief comments on their RYLA experience.
(From left to right, Colin, Maiza, Emily, and Cameron Lee (Maiza's partner)
Emily Farrer, who is a teacher at Titahi Bay Intermediate, described how she came to know something about Rotary and RYLA itself through Colin. Although she often uses Te Ara Piko she did not realise it was a Rotary project. She enjoyed the Tetra mapping (not a personality profiling tool. Rather, it builds a firm foundation for understanding your nature and the nature of others) to learn more about herself and her interaction with others. She spoke of significant self-realisation. Emily said,” Leadership comes from working within myself first”.
Maiza Rehan, whose manager is a past programme director for RYLA, was also appreciative of what she learned during the week. Her main learnings were clarifying what leadership is and the sharing of oneself with others – this made her feel vulnerable but Maiza realised that was a two-way notion. She said that leadership means you are alone and that “Different people lead in different ways.”
It was clear that both women had achieved enormous benefits from their RYLA experience. Emily said that she had already enrolled to be on the 'Blue Team' (former Rylarians who run the event each year) in 2024.