There are plenty of reasons to devote one week of your summer to attend YLI. You will add great leadership
training to your resume and college application. You can win scholarship money. You will make new
friends from around the Kansas City area. You will learn to work as a team in many adventurous
and energetic activities, including an adventure course. You’ll challenge yourself, learn
about yourself and begin to discover what you want in your future.
But don’t take it from us . . .
Hear what past participants have to say:
"I went to YLI thinking that all I would be doing is sitting around and getting lectured to. I have to tell you
that YLI is so much more. Not only did I learn qualities of a leader and have fun, I also learned qualities
about myself that I never knew and made friends in the process."
"I was nervous in the beginning, but I am so grateful that I allowed myself to open up to the many great people
I met and experience this wonderful journey."
"Before YLI, I never realized the impact I can make in my family, school and society."
"To say that YLI had an impact on my path in life to date would be putting it mildly. When I was selected to
participate in YLI, I was an impressionable sophomore in high school, no clear goals or aspirations. What I gained
from my week working with Rotarians and community leaders was less a picture of where I wanted to be in ten years,
and more of an understanding of what kind of person I wanted to be for the rest of my life. From that week, I began
to appreciate the indispensable qualities of team collaboration, personal initiative and civic responsibility.
Rotary’s message of ’Service Above Self’ was implicitly built into every activity.
Through my own activities following YLI, I became increasingly aware of the value of that message. I didn't fully
appreciate how much it had shaped my own development until I applied for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship four
years later. The qualities sought for the scholarship were those I had learned four years previous, and those I
had demonstrated in my activities ever since.
Since I arrived in Prague, Czech Republic on the Rotary Scholarship, I have been fortunate to be able to visit
with people the world over who share Rotary’s mission. It is a mission of goodwill and giving carried out
by Rotarians everywhere, and one I hope to share with others for years to come."
"Thank you for inspiring me to
be a better leader!"
"I thought YLI was going to be worse than camp, but it was the best week of my summer."
"I will definitely recommend YLI to a friend."
"I made new friends and loved working with students from different schools in K.C."
"Winning a college scholarship was an unexpected bonus!"
"I can truly say this was a rewarding experience that I am grateful to have participated in."
"From all my experience at YLI, I have become a better leader and teammate."
"To have been in the company of YLI 2006 and the like minds all striving for the same excellence was, to say the least,
exhilarating."
"It was a great way to make new friends, learn new skills and have fun!"
"I am glad that I attended this leadership summit because I met a lot of great people that I still keep in touch
with and on top of all that, I had a lot of fun working with the students."
What their parents have to say . . .
"The opportunity to work with local business leaders and students from the area has been and will be invaluable
for my daughter as she pursues other leadership opportunities. The Rotary 4-Way Test encompasses values that our
family promotes, and we hope these
values can be spread to many other future leaders."
"Our son Brett attended Youth Leadership Institute following his sophomore high school year, and has enjoyed
many benefits from the experience. Besides making new friends from throughout the Kansas City area, he learned the
importance of leadership, networking and team-building through the week-long concentration of activities.
Through the YLI application process, Brett learned about resume-writing, asking for a letter of recommendation,
and composing an essay - the kinds of skills so valuable in getting a job or completing the college application
process. Brett so enjoyed his time with YLI that he served as a volunteer for the program’s next class.
Having seen the benefits of YLI first-hand, we plan for his younger sister to be a YLI graduate as well."
"My son just submitted his Common Application for college admissions. Just like his sister, his essay was about YLI and the lasting impression it had on him. I think that says a lot about the program and the positive impact it
had on both my kids."
"YLI gave both my children the confidence to move out of their comfort zones and take advantage of this unique
leadership development program. They both came away with greater confidence in themselves and a better understanding
of how to work effectively in teams. They also developed a healthy respect for the facilitators of the program. The
instructors gave willingly of their time to share their experiences with the participants and made a great impression."
