Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN)
On 7-9 April, we attended the RYPEN camp weekend at the Lea Scout Centre near Kingston. We had a weekend of team building exercises and special guest speakers, with a focus on communication in a team.
Julie Preston, a career advisor from the University of Tasmania, spoke about resumes and job applications, showing us what a good resume needs and what employers are looking for: teamwork, customer service and good communication skills.
Brenda Tsiaousis, a business owner, taught us how are personal values help us make decisions. Brenda’s example was Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, the founders of Orange Sky laundry, whose values of compassion and generosity helped them create a business that washes clothing of the homeless.
Greg Irons, owner of Bonorong Wildlife Park, told us there are three things we should do for a successful future: work harder at school, volunteer at a place you are passionate about, and to think about your dream job and make it a goal.
We had Paralympians, Melissa Carlton and Alastair Chong. Melissa told us to set no limits, and said that no one can tell you what you are capable of but yourself. Alastair gave us four pieces of advice: luck is not what you get, it’s what you make it. Stick it out, if you believe, you will do it. Mental capacity gets you there and, finally, find someone that is better than you and learn from them.
Stephen Dimsey from ‘Life Be in it’ spoke to us about roles in a team. In a series of activities with him we had to think, listen to others and try our hardest with our team that we were in. Although meant to be fun, most were very challenging. You had to think actively to achieve the wanted result.
We also did a ropes course during RYPEN. You had to use the monkey grip hold with your team while climbing around trees and holding on to a series of ropes to steady yourself. If a member of your team fell off one or two people made their way along to the start to help you reach back to the team.
A big thank you to the Rotary Club of Glenorchy for sponsoring us to attend the RYPEN weekend. We both had a great weekend and learnt so much about teamwork and its importance.
Maggie Baker & Aynee Williams - Year 9 students
A Catholic School in the Salesian Tradition
