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the voice of the abingtons abingtonsuburban.com | July 6, 2017
The Scranton Tennis Club will host its annual tournament |PAGE 3
An Abington Heights student will present a look at the stars |PAGE 8
It was a beautiful night for a Independence Day fireworks |PAGE 10
LEArninG LEAdErshiP
Rotary summer conference ‘life-changing’ By Linda Scott
home. They get to interact with each other and are breaking out of their shells. SPEciaL to tHE aBinGton SUBURBan It is a life-changing experience for many Keystone College in La Plume recently of them.” The participants take part in smallwelcomed a group of students to campus who may still be in high school but expe- and large-group activities building on the concept of leadership. They learn rienced what college life is all about. how to brainstorm, public speaking, time Rotary Youth Leadership Association (RYLA) District No. 7410 summer confer- management, communicating and listening, team building, personal goal-setting, ence was held for 75 students who came leadership skills and problem solving/defrom 10 counties. They had completed cision making and personal assessment. their sophomore year of high school and They listened to guest speakers and will be entering their junior year. They did a service project. The campers were have shown leadership qualities in their divided into eight groups: music and lyrhome, school and community. ics, art, engineering, graduation, drama, Students are exposed to college life computer, media and athletics. living in the dorm and eating in the The music and lyrics group wrote an cafeteria. Students may have known each other from the same high school, but get original song which they performed at the to meet others and form new friendships. end of the conference. The media group Students who have completed the confer- wrote an eight-page newspaper including an article on each group and interviews ence come back as counselors. “The event goers are chosen and spon- with guest speakers. They also took pictures. The athletic group created a game sored by the Rotary,” said Karen DeMatthat they taught to the other groups. The teo, district rotary chair and a member drama group created an eight- to 10-minof Rotary No. 7410 from Stroudsburg. “For, some, it is their first time away from ute play, complete with costumes and props, and presented it to the groups. The graduation group planned for the graduation ceremony at the end of the conference, which parents and family attended. This group worked on such things as the program to be passed out and TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 07/05/17
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Participating in the conference were, from left: Shannon Baransky of Clarks Summit, Ben Gibson of Clarks Summit and Sydney Rothka of Newton Township.
decorations. “My art group was working on a painting of a hand,” said Bryce Rivera of Jim Thorpe. “Each color in the hand represents a spark. It takes a spark and then it is spread to others.” “This is a great program and it opens you up to new experiences,” said Ben Gibson an incoming 11th grader at Abington Heights. “The staff is well-prepared and make it so much fun. I will have a lot of great memories.” “When they first come to the camp they are shy and keep to themselves,” said Devin Distilli, who attended the program when he was a student at Wallenpaupack Area High School and now attends Lebanon Valley College. He has been involved
with the conference for five years and is the counselor director. “At the end of the camp they’re a different person. They get to be themselves and are so carefree. This program brought me out of my shell. The conference is the best week of my life.” “I got to meet new people,” said Sydney Rothka an incoming 11th grader at Abington Heights. “I have never done some of these activities before and it is a cool experience.” “The conference was a new experience,” said Shannon Baranski an incoming 11th grader at Abington Heights. “You meet a lot of people who may share a common interest. You grow together which can contribute to a bigger picture.”