FROSTBURG — Three Mountain Ridge High School students have been selected by the Frostburg Rotary for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. The students, Sarah Deprey-Severance, Steven Lowery and Carson Muir, recently attended a tri-state conference at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., focusing on leadership and teamwork skills.
The three recapped their experience earlier this week at a reception attended by their families and Rotary members over cake and ice cream.
“It really opened my mind because Frostburg is a really small town,” Deprey-Severance said. “I’m already pretty open-minded, but meeting a whole bunch of new people made me realize that the world is a huge place, even just on this side of the United States.”
She claims that she’s generally shy, but RYLA has helped her overcome her timid personality while meeting new people. All three agree that meeting new people is an important aspect of RYLA.
The three high school seniors were inspired to go by Karina Whetstone, who attended a RYLA conference last year. She, too, said she was shy and “socially inept” before RYLA. “I was really introverted for the longest time,“ she said.
Then, she found different leadership opportunities, including RYLA, that helped her overcome her shyness. “It really helped show me that being shy wasn’t going to help me with life and that learning to get over my fear of talking to people would actually help me.”
Whetstone went to the RYLA conference with one of her friends, thinking they would spend time together. But Whetstone said she hardly saw her. “It was a lot of fun,” Whetstone said.
Although Whetstone convinced the three to apply, they each had personal reasons for their interest in RYLA. For Muir, it was about meeting new people, while Lowery was looking for more confidence. Deprey-Severance’s reasons for going were similar to Whetstone’s. Deprey-Severance made plans to branch out over the summer, especially since she will be attending college soon.
The three are now on the lookout for other classmates and peers who could be potential leaders. According to them, “anybody” can do RYLA — although they agree that the person should be open-minded. The selection process focuses on “leadership promise” rather than specifically on students who already hold leadership positions, according to Rotary member Cherie Snyder. This encourages more students to apply, and it also helps that the conference is paid for by Rotary.
Lowery was “lucky enough” to come home with $25 after winning an award for his group’s project. But as Muir said, “You can’t put money on the experience.”
The others laughed, but agreed. “It just brings the best out of everybody when you’re there,” Whetstone said.
Local News
Related Photos
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From left: Steven Lowery, Sarah Deprey-Severance, Karina Whetstone and Carson Muir attend a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards reception at the Princess Restaurant in Frostburg Monday. Lowery, Deprey-Severance and Muir, all Mountain Ridge High seniors, were this year’s recipients of the Frostburg Rotary award and Whetstone won the award last year. Ken Nolan/Times-News
Rotary leadership conference helps attendees overcome shyness
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