By Jim Smilie

Name an annual youth activity that starts with “Do I have to go,” and “I don’t want to do this,” and ends with “Do I have to leave,” and “Can I do this again?”
The answer: Summer Camp.

In this case, the event is Camp Ryla, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards annual week-long summer camp hosted by Rotary International for high school sophomores going into their junior year.
Four former Ryla camp attendees spoke to members of the Rotary Club of Alexandria Tuesday afternoon to share their experiences at summer camp.

All four said they didn’t want to go to the camp when it was offered, but are now glad that they did.
First to share her story was Lindsey Purvis, a junior at Alexandria Senior High School. She said her biggest takeaway from the camp were the lessons she learned about teamwork and the new friends she made. “I learned that teamwork is much more than just working together.”

Next up was Calyn Mangum, who said she was hesitant to attend the leadership camp because she was afraid to meet new people. “I learned that if you don’t get out of your comfort zone, you will never get out of the bubble you have created,” she said. “I have Ryla to thank for amazing friendships. I had one of the best summers of my life. I would go back in a heartbeat.”

Timber Nichols said she was nervous at first as the only Bolton student at the camp. She quickly made new friends and felt that the camp fostered a family atmosphere. “We became so close it was like I had known these people my whole life,” she said.

While Purvis, Mangum and Nichols each attended the camp this summer, it has been more than a quarter of a century since the final presenter attended Camp Ryla, but he still remembers the lessons he learned that week.

Jonathan Goins, an attorney, former Alexandria City Councilman and current City Attorney for the City of Alexandria, attended Camp Ryla in 1997 while a student at Peabody Magnet High School.
“I was just a young kid from the hood — Samtown/Woodside. I didn’t want to go,” Goins said, noting he would have preferred to play basketball, go swimming or just hang out with his friends. “But it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Goins said the camp taught him the importance of setting goals and maintaining a positive attitude. “I learned that your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude,” he said. “Camp Ryla gave me goals to reach and helped me become who I am today.”