RYLA to Interact
Jake and Matt speak of their experiences and journey from RYLA to being members of Rotaract.
I’m Matt Walker, aged 17 from Arnold in Nottingham where I attend Redhill Sixth Form. I am in my
first year studying A level Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Music- which is more fun than it may sound! I play both the guitar and French horn which I find rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable. After I finish my A-levels Jake and myself plan to travel the world in our gap year. I have known Jake, my ‘partner in crime’ since I was around 5 months old, and we’ve been an unstoppable duo ever since. We both attended Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) in 2006 with sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Sherwood Sunrisers in Nottingham, District 1220 and we have been involved with Rotary ever since. I don’t want to go into much more detail than that; you’ll have to wait for our presentation.
We are both very grateful for the invitation to the RIBI Conference and are delighted to be involved yet again with Rotary. We hope you enjoy our presentation as much as we will enjoy giving it.
Hi, I am Jake Verma, a life long friend of Matt Walker, studying A level Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry at Redhill Sixth Form in Nottingham. I would like to go to Oxford to read Physics then move into research but my mother is convinced that I will not leave Nottingham.
With this workload I have to make time to pursue other interests such as reading, ballroom dancing and seeing how long I can stand up on skis! I have also played a number of lead roles in drama productions such as “The Crucible” which I really enjoy. The Rotary Club of Sherwood Sunrisers kindly sent me on a RYLA in May 2006 and I have loved every minute of my involvement with Rotary ever since. Matt Walker has been my friend even before we could talk. However, when we were able to talk we had many a heated debate about the names of Thomas the Tank Engines’ carriages which we still argue about. I enjoy reading, ballroom dancing and standing up on skis as long as I can! I am delighted to be invited to our second Rotary Conference to tell you about our Rotary involvement and how we are developing the connection.