Let’s face it…camp is magical. There is nothing on earth like feeling so at home, so welcomed, and so embedded in an intentional community of caring individuals. But the real magic of camp is being immersed in an environment that gives us support and space to grow, try new things, expand our horizons, and solve interesting real-life problems. It opens up our universe, illuminates our core values, and encourages us to be joyful, compassionate, community-minded, generous, curious, creative, and courageous.
Camp raises the bar for our daily existence and how we view true friendships. But at a certain point, it’s essential for camp-lovers to take their journey to the next level, by moving out of the camp bubble, and back into the magic beyond the comfort zone to put those skills and values into action out in the world.
Since the age of 6, I’ve spent almost every summer either attending or working at a summer camp, or designing and leading international immersion programs for students that have aged-out of camp. As the Director of Global Routes, and a 9-time global immersion leader myself, I work with countless former campers each year that are making the leap from the waterfront to the world. I want to help you make the leap in a way that will best support the continued growth of your camper!
Top 5 Reasons Teenage Campers should make the leap to a Global Immersion Program
Prepare to excel in college and beyond: Build critical 21st Century Global Competencies that are central to thriving in college and beyond.
Demonstrate your desire to Learn: your continued track of seeking growth, openness, challenge, and understanding different perspectives. Build on your camp experience by taking the courageous step to seek out experiential learning in a new and challenging environment. Show admissions teams that you are always growing, expanding, and trying new things.
Show your Commitment to Service: Demonstrate your commitment to be an active, engaged, and compassionate member of your community. Some programs, including Global Routes, can award the Presidential Volunteer Service Award to particularly dedicated students. Colleges are seeking students that are going to positively impact their college community. See what Vanderbilt Admissions Counselor Jan Suter has to say:
Inspire your interests and passions before you graduate high school. So many students enter college with very limited understanding of what they really want to study, and lose out on the opportunity to make the most of an incredible education. Real-world experiences in high school help students identify areas and topics that truly excite them. This allows students to enter higher education with energy and focus and inspires students to seek out courses of study they are truly passionate about. This is an essential step in building pathways to a fulfilling and meaningful career.
Meaningful Mentorship: Camp counselors are heroes to campers. International immersion educators and instructors provide continued inspiring mentorship to aspiring leaders at just the right time. Program leaders are dynamic, caring, experienced staff who have followed their dreams across the globe. Leaders will support and push students to stretch their comfort zone, cultivate core values, and center in on areas that ignite passion and deep interest as students are contemplating the world and their role as global citizens. The teenage years are a critical time to connect with motivational mentors that will support students as they grow and launch into adulthood.
Of course, the most valuable perspective here comes from life-time campers who made the leap from camp to global immersion programs when they were in high school and now have had several years to look back and assess the value of those experiences.
Here are reflections from Jillian Gray and Kaleigh Mangiarelli. Jillian attended a month-long 2017 global immersion program and Kaleigh attended 3 month-long global immersion programs from 2008-10.
How was your global immersion experience the perfect next step after many years at camp?
“My experience allowed me to become a more confident leader. The LIT program at my summer camp served as a basis for this confidence, and my program in St. Vincent helped me put these skills into action. The purpose of our trip aligned with the goals of my camp in many ways. Being able to travel with a group and have a common goal helped make the experience even more valuable to me. In many ways being a camper and being an international traveler are very similar. In order to fully embrace either experience, one has to be willing to keep an open mind and be willing to make mistakes. It is all part of the process. -Jillian
What would you say to a teenage camper who was considering transitioning from camp to a global immersion experience?
“DO IT. I cannot stress enough how important seeing the world outside of your “bubble” is. International travel is so important in opening your eyes. The people you come into contact with, the history you learn about, the new activities and foods you try are all so extremely valuable in helping you see what life is truly like. When you actually get to see these places in person, you are gaining a much deeper appreciation for the world around you.” -Jillian
“Just do it. You absolutely will not regret it. It will change the way you look at your life, change the “things” you value, and ignite a spark for travel and learning about others that you never knew you had.” -Kaleigh
How did your global immersion experience help prepare you to be a confident global citizen?
“It helped my empathy grow to be more than just about other people’s feelings, but about others circumstances as well.” -Kaleigh
“International travel is so important in making us more aware of the world around us. Being more aware helps us become more empathetic and informed. I became more aware of myself and the impact I can have on the lives of others just as other people can have a similar impact on me. Realizing how interconnected we all really are is emphasized through international travel.” -Jillian
What was the biggest impact of your global immersion experience?
“Truly it is the people. These people have come to shape my perspective and have allowed me to become a better version of myself. I think that learning from other people is the most powerful tool we have, and the Global Routes experience allows you to form those connections to people you would never expect to be friends with at first.” -Jillian
How were the values you learned at camp reinforced on your global immersion experience?
“The ‘Full Value Contract’ explains it all. Putting the group members in charge of creating the rules, not just the authority making those decisions. This is a way that both camp and Global Routes teach young people to hold each other accountable, but in the most positive of ways.” -Kaleigh
How did your global immersion experience help you make the transition to college?
“The group living aspect of the Global Routes experience was particularly helpful to me in making this transition since it taught me some of the most valuable lessons about cooperation and collaboration. I know that my parents have said before that they didn’t have trouble picturing me going to a school far away because they knew of the independence I gained from this program. I am loving my experience in college already and I am thankful that I was able to feel right at home here almost immediately because I have already had such wonderful experiences being so far outside of my comfort zone.” -Jillian
Anything else you’d like to share?
“It is hard to put into words how life-changing it is.” -Jillian
Tips from Adam to find a great program fit:
Smaller, more intimate group sizes are going to be the best way to continue the magic of camp group dynamics. I recommend finding group sizes no larger than 18 as beyond this number, the group no longer feels like a family and can splinter into cliques.
Longer the better. It takes time to settle into a global immersion experience. We recommend seeking out programs that are at least 3.5 weeks, similar to the length of many camp sessions. 5 weeks ideal. It can take almost 2 weeks to truly feel comfortable and at home in another country. And it can take another 5 days to prep for re-entry and reverse culture shock. So 3.5 weeks is really the appropriate minimum.
Get out of the cities! The true perspective-changing experience happens away from the hustle and bustle of cities. Get off the tourist track and seek out opportunities to really soak in the rhythm of daily life in rural host communities.
Safety, Safety, Safety!! Be sure any provider you’re looking at has been around the block and has been running programs for decades. Look up reviews on GoOverseas.com, an open review platform for abroad programs and ask for a reference list. Ask about the minimum age for leaders, and what training they’ve received. We have an awesome and thorough list of safety questions you should be asking about any provider right here.
Please note that Global Routes offers free webinars this February for families that are hoping to learn even more about global immersion experiences. Learn more here.
Big day ahead! Your son or daughter is soon to meet all of the kids with whom s/he’ll be spending the summer!
Here are 7 tips to help your camper nail their first camp get together:
Don’t OVERSELL the day by putting too much pressure on your child to “make a best friend” or “make ten friends”. The day can be overwhelming on its own, and your extra pressure only adds to it.
If your child is anxious or nervous, that’s OKAY!! It’s normal! Most kids feel butterflies before their first get-together.
Encourage your son or daughter to go in with a POSITIVE attitude of “I’m going to have fun.” And remind your child to SMILE at the other kids s/he meets!
DO call the camp director ahead of time if you want specific details for how the event will go, etc. Lots of kids do better with a clear vision of what exactly to expect.
DON’T “stick around” and watch your child integrate if the event is a drop-off. Your camp directors and the staff they bring in to help for the day are professionals…they’ve got this. If your child knows you’re just around the corner or peeking in the window, s/he may keep looking back at you for reassurance (or worse yet come to you with questions or nerves or tears), thus taking away from the experience.
If your child has food allergies or dietary restrictions, make sure you find out ahead of time what is being served and if necessary, send your child with his or her own food to mimic what will be at the event.
RELAX!!! IF your son or daughter gets back in your car after and is disappointed or didn’t connect or didn’t have fun or or or, it’s OKAY. It doesn’t mean that you chose the wrong camp, or the other kids aren’t nice, or the camp doesn’t know what they’re doing…. Pick up the phone and call the camp director the next week and have an open conversation. Most directors will then suggest that you make one on one “playdates” so your child can get to know other new campers in a less overwhelming setting.
Follow Summer 365 down memory lane… back to when you were little and saw your first magic trick. You didn’t really understand it, you couldn’t fully explain it, but you know that it amazed you and exceeded all your expectations of what you thought was going to happen. This is how we try to explain sleepaway camp to those who have never been. For people who have never experienced it, it is hard to understand the obsession that is camp. And those who are part of it can never fully explain it, but they definitely know that it was amazing and that it exceeded all their expectations. This is our answer to the question, “why go to summer camp:” because you too will be part of the group that understands the unexplainable magic.
The camp magician teaches children how to master ten magic tricks.
First Trick: Confidence
The trick of being confident. Schools have tried, parents have tried, friends have tried, but I have never seen anyone do a magic trick on children the way that camp can to bring out a child’s inner confidence. It can sometimes be a hidden gem in a child that camp manages to find and bring out.
Second Trick: Loyalty
The trick of being loyal. It’s the magic of friendship that camp teaches children. Your bunkmates quickly become your family and your loyalty to them is extreme and it is real.
Third Trick: Responsibility
The trick of learning responsibility. The magic of camp is that children grow up more in those short 7 weeks than they do throughout the whole year. It’s no longer a nagging parent that instructs a kid to do their duties (brush her teeth, clear his plate, make her bed), rather it is the child who takes on responsibilities to take care of him or herself, to take care of his or her belongings, and so much more.
Fourth Trick: Bravery
The trick of being brave. Getting on the bus that first day requires a new level of braveness that children have yet to experience at that age. Once at camp, being in this magical place, kids are able to conquer their own fears of touching the bottom of the lake, going down the zip line, trying out for the soccer team, or even just trying new foods.
Fifth Trick: Teamwork
The trick of teamwork. Camp is a magical community and doesn’t function without the happiness, spirit, and personalities of each camper. Whether it is partnering up with a new friend, working together on a color war team, or just sitting by the lake, the bonds in this community are unlike most others.
Sixth Trick: Second Family
The trick of creating a second family. Living in a place where you are surrounded by hundreds of people who genuinely want you to be your best self is magical. Camp creates a second family in which children find role models to look up to, people who look after them, and a place where kids learn the great life skills and values from great people.
Seventh Trick: Accepting Others
The trick of accepting others. Camp is a place where being called “weird” is one of the biggest complements one could accept. Children learn to open up their eyes to people similar and different from them. Camp teaches everyone to find the magic within each other. There is magic within each person, camp just helps people see it.
Eighth Trick: Sportsmanship
The trick of sportsmanship. It is just as fun to lose as it is to win at camp. Camp teaches the magic of focusing on the positives of every situation. You can ask any coach, teaching sportsmanship is not an easy task, but somehow camp counselors have mastered this. Children actually cheer on the opposite team as much as they cheer on their own. Now that is MAGIC.
Ninth Trick: Living in the Moment
The trick of learning to live in the moment. In this day and age children are surrounded by technology, electronics, and are always diving into the “next thing.” At camp, life slows down. Each day, children learn the magic of embracing the moment, making the best of each day, and being outdoors and in nature. It is not about doing an activity so you can Instagram it, it is about doing an activity because it is fun. Camp brings back the magic of the world that isn’t based around technology.
Tenth Trick: Happiness
The trick of happiness. We often hear parents ask camp directors if they put something special in the water at camp that makes every kid so happy. Camp makes kids smile a little wider, makes their adrenaline rush a little harder, makes their nose crinkle a little more from laughing too hard, and truly makes their heart beat a little faster. If that isn’t magic, then we are not sure what is.
We have yet to learn the magic trick that lets campers stay at camp for 12 months of the year… but we are working on it!
By: Katie Waldrep, Head Nurse
My child is sick at camp. Now what!?
It was my first summer as a camp nurse and I can still remember the panicked voice on the other end of the line. It was my first phone call letting a camp mom know that her child was sick at the Health Center. She was more distraught than the camper who was sitting in front of me. Mind you, I was not a parent yet and most of my experience in nursing had been in Intensive Care. I had no idea that what I perceived as straightforward Strep Throat would elicit such a response.
If you are like most parents who have sent your child off to camp, you researched it all… Which activities will best enhance your child’s interests? Which staff and directors have the type of personality and attitude to encourage and nurture your child? Which camp has the cleanest looking cabins and bathrooms? I know you were thorough because parents worry about these things. But even though you may have toured the Health Center and spoken with a nurse, you may not have really considered what it might mean if your little camper got sick while they were at camp.
Most parents have been the primary caregiver to “nurse” their child through an illness. You’re probably wondering how this camp nurse will know how to provide for your child while they are sick, and if they even will be able to “get better” while in the care of someone else. It can be upsetting to learn that your child is sick at camp but it does not have to ruin their summer, or yours. Below please find some helpful facts we have learned while caring for your children over the years.
Your child will get better.
It is hard enough to send your child away to camp and the guilt you might then feel when they get sick can be overwhelming. But remember — they will get better. The illness will pass and the event may even be remembered as an accomplishment. Do not discount the importance of overcoming an illness while away from mom and dad. I often tell parents that being “in the Health Center” becomes a part of their child’s camp story. The event becomes woven into the tapestry and can often be a funny or warm memory.
This too, shall pass.
Often it is harder for you than it is for your child.
As parents, we sometimes try so hard to make things perfect for our children that we can get upset if things don’t turn out as planned. Many parents are saddened if their little one has to miss out on an event while at camp due to illness. I cannot tell you how many parents have expressed concern to me because their child is missing a “Break Out.” So many camps go above and beyond to make the Health Center stay a positive, memory making experience too. We go on Mystery Golf Cart Rides and “sneak attacks” on the Canteen…shhhhh, it’s our secret! We have Head Staff visit to play games or watch a movie. And if an illness occurs during a special event like “Break Out” or “Sing!” we have our sick campers there for the show, too.
Don’t beat yourself up!
The staff welcomes your input.
Many children have special needs when they are sick. My daughter ALWAYS vomits with a fever. Some children are prone to night terrors or bedwetting when ill. Please share this with the medical staff. You may have written this on your forms and it can be slightly annoying that the staff missed this detail. Please remember it’s not intentional, we are all on the same team and while it may seem careless we can assure you it’s not, your camper is under great supervision while in our care. Be a part of the collaborative team with the camp medical staff. Share your tips. It may be a special technique to get them to swallow medicine or a certain food that you know will be the only thing they might consume while sick.
Help us out, let’s stick together.
Going home is not failure
Times have changed in the camping world — even within my 10 years of camp nursing. When I first started as a camp nurse, campers would stay in the Health Center for their entire illness, no matter how long the course. Going home was simply not an option.
At Camp IHC, just like many camps, our care is individualized which means we do what is best for EACH camper. Sometimes a stay in the Health Center can become a negative turning point, and a camper can be too distraught to stay more than a couple of nights. Our camp physician may feel that additional testing or a second opinion might be beneficial. Sending a child home for a short period during the summer can be a difficult decision.
Parents are members of the collaborative care team and it is in everyone’s best interest, especially your camper, to be positive and supportive. Parents sometimes worry that re-entry to camp can be a little difficult. Rest assured our staff, both Nurses and cabin counselors, are trained to make that transition as smooth as possible for your camper.
This is what we do!
Can you prevent your child from ever visiting the Health Center? Probably not. You can teach hand-washing and nose-blowing (or try — nobody’s perfect!) You can have your child immunized and up-to-date on their flu shot. But even with all of that, children love to share, and germs are certainly no exception. So when your caller ID shows camp’s name, try not to panic. Take a deep breath and remember that we are all on the same team.
