LLC - Ludington

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Ashley McPike
Junior, Ludington High School 
 
The Life Leadership staff and speakers shared meaningful words and were always upbeat and welcoming. The structure was a great balance between free time and learning, and allowed you to not get tired of sitting in an auditorium. The content was exciting and hands-on which kept people engaged. I think it was very worth it. The things I learned and the people I met were definitely worth the drive, application, and the time.
 
One message that impacted me the most was by Molly Kennedy. She said “where your focus goes, your energy flows”. This reminds me to focus on what I want to happen, not what I don’t want to happen.  Another thing that impacted me the most at this conference was meeting new people. At the beginning of the conference, I was nervous about being put in a group with no one I knew, but throughout the couple of days, I met so many new people and made so many new friendships that I was glad that my family group was lacking familiar faces. This made me realize that getting out of my comfort zone can open me up to new experiences that I would have missed otherwise.
 
I will use what I’ve learned, especially the small things, to make school, activities, and eventually the workplace a more positive environment. I found that the 4:1 Ratio Rule discussed by conference speaker Ben Whiting was very instructive. When giving "constructive" criticism, match every critique you give with 4 positives or things you liked if you really want to connect and communicate with someone.
 
Going to the conference allowed me to help start and lead an Interact Club at our high school. This will open up new opportunities for everyone in the community. 
 
I will also use what I’ve learned at the conference during the 2022 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute this October when presenting and discussing my solutions to food insecurity around the world. I’m excited to be a part of creating a more healthy, fair, and sustainable world, and use what I’ve learned at the Life Leadership Conference to do so.
 
As for improvements to LLC, I would suggest being a bit more strict on the time slots for speakers because I know at least one speaker went over the time allotted. This cut off time for the next speaker to use so we didn’t get to hear from them as much as I would have liked.  
 
I want to thank Ludington Rotary for giving me the opportunity to go to the Life Leadership Conference and for further opening me up to new things. I also want to thank the staff and speakers that participated at the conference. You were all so helpful and positive and made me look forward to what the future holds.  
 

Kathleen (Kat) Wang
Senior, Ludington High School

The 2022 Rotary Life Leadership Conference was such an amazing experience and I'm so grateful to be given the opportunity by the Ludington Rotary Club and Rotary District 6290. The conference was well organized, as I was given a pamphlet of the schedule, summaries of the staff/speakers, and description of the activities. The staff was kind and supportive, each was willing to lend a hand at any given time. I loved the content of the conference because it was empowering and inspirational. I felt that I could relate to what was being said and learned so much because of it.

I really enjoyed listening to all the speakers at the conference because each had a different approach to telling their story. Their speeches were engaging and even though they were all different, I learned new things from each. One speaker that impacted me the most was Molly Kennedy. She coined the term "Flip your 20” which in general means to flip your "paradigm" or perspective on life situations - trying to see the good in everything. She then explained some of her life struggles and how she overcame them, and she showed us a picture of two roads, one being straight and the other curvy and all over the place. She then explained that life is the curvy road and that no matter how much we try, we will never have a straight road.

Life will never go our way because we can't control it. Molly then explained that it's okay to be in difficult situations, because that's where we grow and learn. We have to become more equipped than yesterday. This stood out to me because I like to be in control of everything, and have everything go my way. I become anxious when my plans don't work out, but when Molly gave her presentation, I changed my perspective on life circumstances and learned to keep trudging forward because that's how we control our lives: by accepting the hard times we'll go through, but knowing there's success at the end. 

After going to the conference I personally gained more confidence. I felt supported by my new friends and they showed me that it's okay to speak out. Now, at my student council and in YAC meetings I will try to speak up more. I now know that my opinion is valuable and a powerful tool to make changes in the world. My school is restarting the Rotary Interact Club, so in the future I am hopefully partaking in Rotary activities. Then, I can speak about my experience at LLC and inspire others to join and realize what a leader they can be. 

There is little to nothing that needs to be improved at LLC. The main issue I had was that the conference was not long enough. There was so much impact in the short 4 days we were there. I felt that we were going to the next activity right after another. I think the conference should be a whole week. Then, the days don't feel rushed and you have more time with new friends and staff. 

LLC was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I still talk to the friends I met at the conference and reminisce on the activities we did. I hope that I get more involved in Rotary as our club begins again. 

Ashley McPike
 
Katherine (Kat) Wang