Rotary sponsoring two students for RYLA
RYLA ATTENDEES – The Rotary Club of Humboldt is proud to sponsor two Humboldt students to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RTLA) held on the campus of Austin Peay State University June 14-17. Kendrick Taylor (left), a junior this coming school year, and Jaquari Agnew, a senior, are already leaders amongst their classmate piers, but will join dozens of other teenagers at RYLA to hone skills such as communication, problem-solving, public speaking and others, all while having fun developing their own leadership skills.
by DANNY WADE | Senior Editor
dwade@hchronicle.net
The Rotary Club of Humboldt is always seeking ways to better the Humboldt community. One way the club has done this in the past is by sponsoring a Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School student to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).
This year, the club is thrilled to be sponsoring two Humboldt students, Kendrick Taylor and Jaquari Agnew. Agnew will be a senior for the upcoming school year while Taylor will be a junior. Both young men are outstanding students and athletes.
“The Humboldt Rotary Club is honored to support these fine young students to attend RYLA camp,” stated Humboldt Rotary President Bob Moore. “RYLA will offer an opportunity to learn leadership skills and also instill Rotary’s motto ‘Service before Self’. It is our desire that Kendrick and Jaquari acquire new skills and inspiration to bring these qualities back to Humboldt, and become the future leaders of our great city and community. As president this year, I have leaned into youth and supported all aspects of giving them the tools necessary to become the best they can possibly be.”
“I’m looking forward to RYLA,” Agnew said. “I want to experience it all and gather as much knowledge as I can.”
Agnew has an impressive high school resume as both an athlete and academic. He played football from sixth grade up until his junior year and will play this coming year as a senior. Agnew played basketball from sixth grade through 11th. As of now, he will not play basketball his senior year, although the coaches are urging him to play. Agnew said he wants to focus on football and already has an offer from Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina. He also participated in a football camp at Purdue University. Agnew said he worked out as a cornerback. There were over 100 student athletes invited to the camp.
Over the years, Agnew has kept busy giving back to his community. He volunteers with the Boys & Girls Club, is a city league coach, attended 4-for-4 Barber School, assisted with the Tyson food give-away at Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School, pulled floats in the Strawberry Festival Junior Parades, helped hand out free bicycles to students at East Elementary School and assisted at East’s field day. With all of this going on, plus school, Agnew has held down a job at McDonald’s for the past couple of years.
One thing Agnew would not let happen with such a busy schedule is let his grades drop. He currently has a 3.78 GPA going into his senior year.
Agnew’s mother, Natassia Agnew is thrilled “Jay” was asked to attend RYLA. “He struggles with leadership—afraid they might get mad or (he might) hurt someone’s feelings,” she said. “This (RYLA) will be very good for him—how to become a leader.”
Taylor just completed his sophomore year at HJSHS and is also looking forward to attending RYLA.
Like Agnew, Taylor played basketball and football with the school system since the sixth grade and plans to continue through his senior year. But, Taylor wants to focus on basketball with hopes of playing at the next level in college.
When asked what he hopes to get from RYLA, Taylor said, “More leadership skills, better social skills, problem solving and becoming a better person. You have to look at the big picture.”
Taylor said he hopes to share his skillset with other RYLA attendees, such as how to work together as a team or speaking in front of people. He understands people have different mindsets and wants to learn from others while they learn from him as well.
Taylor’s community involvement is impressive for such a young student. Similar to Agnew, Taylor volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club, helped with East’s field day and the bicycle give-away. He read to students at East. Taylor started a coat drive for Helping Hand that collected around 50 coats for those in need and plans on doing this again in the fall. Taylor, along with four other HJSHS students, attended SCOPE conference at Belmont University his freshman year. Taylor is president of the HJSHS Student Council and a member of the Superintendent’s Student Council, and currently has a 3.6 GPA. He smiled and said he has two years to bring it up even higher.
With only two years of high school basketball, he has not seen much activity from colleges or universities. Taylor has big dreams of attending a big name basketball university such as Michigan State or Kentucky. Wherever he attends college, Taylor understands that a career in basketball will be difficult, so he plans to study dentistry to become a dentist.
“I want to represent my family and my school,” Taylor said of his main goal. “I want to show them that I’m not just about sports, but to see my academic side.”
“Kendrick Taylor is known for his smooth, quiet demeanor as a natural leader with a servant drive,” said Humboldt City Schools superintendent, Dr. Janice Epperson. “He is president of the student council and speaks to administrators on the behalf of his classmates and peers. He’s a superb young man.”
“Jaquari Agnew is a bit unpredictable,” Dr. Epperson stated. “He sometimes comes off extremely introverted, but when opportunity presents itself, he is a gentle giant with an internal athletic drive for success. He is a great young man.”
RYLA is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where you develop your skills as a leader while having fun and making connections. This year’s RYLA for Rotary District 6760 will be held June 14-17 on the campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. Awards and graduation take place on Saturday.
According to Rotary International’s website, RYLA attendees benefit in many ways, including:
•Build communication and problem-solving skills
•Discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in your school or community
•Learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers and peer mentors
•Unlock your potential to turn motivation into action
•Have fun and form lasting friendships
This is an intensive, four-day leadership program for young people ages 15-18. RYLA participants discover a world outside the classroom through leadership experience that builds communication skills, teaches creative problem solving, and enhances confidence in themselves and their team, all while having fun and making new friends. RYLA’s purpose is to build the next generation of leaders.
The Humboldt Rotary Club is proud to send Taylor and Agnew to RYLA camp this year and look forward to sponsoring other Humboldt students in the future.
