ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS
2026 RYLA DATES
October 2nd-4th, 2026 | Camp Calvin Crest - Fremont, NE
Applications for RYLA 2026 are now OPEN until August 30, 2026 at 11:59pm
WHAT ARE THE ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA) POWERED BY LAUNCH LEADERSHIP?
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards is an intensive leadership development experience organized by local Rotary clubs and districts across the nation and world. Here, Rotary of Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa has joined forces with Launch Leadership to create a one-of-a-kind RYLA experience, combining Rotary's mission of service and connection with Launch Leadership's decades-long history of creating exciting experiences to help young leaders unlock their leadership potential.
RYLA's 48-hour overnight event helps students grow their leadership abilities, connect with others, understand their ability to make positive change in the world around them - and have a blast doing it!
One more thing - there's no cost to attend! Selected students will be awarded a scholarship to attend RYLA Powered by Launch Leadership from their local Rotary Club.
WHO CAN ATTEND?
RYLA Powered by Launch Leadership is an experience for students in grades 9-12 in Fall 2026 who live in Eastern Nebraska or Southwest Iowa, who have not attended RYLA Powered by Launch Leadership before.
DATES AND LOCATION
This year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awards will be held October 2nd-4th, 2026 at Camp Calvin Crest in Fremont, Nebraska.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Applications are open from May 5 to August 30, 2026. Then, each Rotary Club will interview and select attendees from their pool of local applicants.
Students, please avoid using your school-provided email if possible. Certain school firewalls do not allow for external communication - which means we can’t reach out with any updates or questions!
I’VE BEEN ACCEPTED - WHAT’S NEXT?
If you've been selected by your local Rotary Club, you'll receive an acceptance email from that club, then a link from Launch Leadership to officially register. Once you’ve completed that registration form, you'll be on your way to attending RYLA 2026!
NEED MORE INFO?
For other questions, please contact our Services Director, Steve Dosskey, at services@launchleadership.org or our registration team at registration@launchleadership.org.