IN FOCUS Rotary backs young future leaders
IT is always gratifying to be able to assist young people to achieve their potential, but when those young people are of the calibre of two special guests of the Rotary Club of Dubbo Macquarie last week, it is even more special.
India de Sousa Shaw and Thomas Shelley are recent "graduates" of RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) held earlier this year at Tea Gardens, and came to check in with the club, which sponsored their attendance at the camp.
India (a student at Dubbo Christian School) said she was encouraged to put her hand up for the program by the idea of self-development. She had just returned from a short-term exchange to Japan (through Dubbo Regional Council's sister-city program) and felt the RYPEN program would be a natural progression to build on her experience of the world.
India told us the program's activities helped develop her confidence and self-esteem, along with enriching her goal setting skills. She is hoping to embark on a longer-term exchange to Japan in the future.
Thomas, a student at Macquarie Anglican Grammar, confessed to club members that his greatest fear in life is public speaking – although all agreed that wasn’t immediately obvious from the dignified and mature way this young man spoke of his RYPEN experience.
He threw his hat in the ring for the program as a way to overcome this fear, and says his confidence has been bolstered immeasurably by the experience. Thomas also said the goal-setting skills imparted at the RYPEN camp were invaluable.
Congratulations to both India and Thomas who are wonderful ambassadors not only for their schools but for youth as a whole.
The Rotary Club of Dubbo Macquarie members are very proud to have been able to send them along to RYPEN as outstanding young representatives of our city and the club.