Five students who will be juniors at Highland Central School District in the fall attended the 2024 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) leadership conference at Mount Saint Mary College this summer. Their participation was sponsored by the Highland Rotary Club. RJ Schneider, Alexis Violaris, Zackary Maroney, Wesley Clarke, and Connor Pickett attended.
 
RYLA is an annual event that brings youth from across the region together for an intensive experience designed to help them develop skills in leadership, team building, problem-solving, and communication, while also having fun and making connections. RYLA’s main goal is to teach youth about the power of confidence, comfort, and cooperativeness. Participants are provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience that builds social and working skills.
 
RJ and Alexis attended this week’s breakfast meeting and shared their experience with members. Their parents reinforced the student’s enthusiasm upon returning from the conference, sharing that they are still taking about what a great experience it was.
The RYLA program committee is chaired by Mark Mahoney.