Year Four

New Year:

The first word that comes to mind of year 4 of fullouT21 camps is “thrilling.” To start, my sophomore year of high school was overwhelming with advanced classes and a zero period before school. Aside from that, I had other extracurricular activities that took up the majority of my free time. With sleep deprivation and lack of motivation, I struggled to find the energy to plan the camps, even struggling with where to get started.

Partnerships:

Before I even planned the camps, I had high aspirations of running them in another state. I worked on planning this through a partnership with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). Working with them was amazing; they set me up with connections and helped me find a way to have Down syndrome centers from around the Pacific Northwest be open to the idea of hosting my camp. Although this plan didn’t work out for this summer, I continued my relationship with the NDSS for the potential to work together again next year.

Planning camp:

I started planning camp in late April, and I was already far behind. I had received unfortunate news earlier in the year from the DSC that they could no longer host my camps due to a lack of space and time within the DSC program. With it being so late in the season, and no confirmed location for my camps, I was worried and anxious that camp would not continue this year. I asked various different locations if they could host my camps, like my school and local YMCAs near my house, but they rejected my proposal because I did not have a way to insure the camps. I hung my head, thinking that my camps may fail this year. Instead of giving in to failure, I started to plan what my summer could look like without fullouT21 camps. I came up with creative ideas to keep the program alive. I thought “virtual camps”, or “school year camps”, or even taking a year off of fullouT21 to focus on the next year. After all this, I remembered: these are cheer camps! I immediately contacted the owners of my cheer gym (Connect Cheer NW, or CCNW) to see if they would be open to hosting the camps. I hoped that because they have a team for athletes with disabilities, they would have a system in place for this. After finding time to meet with them after long late-night practices and emails back and forth, we decided on two camp sessions: one in July and one in August. Because I did not have direct connections with Ds families as I did last year through the DSC, I was surprised to see how little registers there were by the beginning of the summer. I relentlessly attempted to get my story shared through having the Arc in Seattle post my flyer, the DSC share in their newsletter, personal emails to former campers, and parent connections in the Ds community. Unfortunately this late in the season, not much followed through. After all that, I filled up one session. Due to the ups and downs of this planning season, knowing that one session filled gave me the satisfaction I yearn for.

The camp days:

Once it was time for camp, my nerves ran high for various reasons. First, I had never hosted my camps at CCNW, and I was unsure of how I would orient the huge open space to keep the campers focused. Second, many of the participants had never been to CCNW before, and with their unfamiliarity of the space and equipment, there is a likelihood that some of them would become afraid. One thing I was sure of was how I would incorporate my research I did throughout my sophomore year into the days of camp. I knew that increments of uninterrupted exercise would contribute to each campers’ physical and mental wellbeing. I structured that into camp through rounds of Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, the Freeze Game, and laps of cartwheels. As the days went on, campers started to look forward to our daily rotation of these games and could not keep the smiles off their faces. Additionally, increasing the structure of the camp was a major change I planned to make for the 2024 season. I have learned throughout my 3 prior years of directing camp that the campers are most prepared and up for activities if they have a laid-out schedule. I decided to write each activity for the day on a whiteboard, displaying it to everyone. This allowed all the campers to put forth their best efforts in each activity, lightening the overall energy of the camp. One of the biggest changes I made from prior years (which changed the trajectory of the camps this year) was the staff members attitudes and positivity. While taking on another staff member, it was vital to make sure that everyone operating the camps were energetic, lively, and positive, radiating that spirit onto the campers. When the campers saw that the instructors were having a fun time, they were inclined to join activities and find the joy themselves, creating the perfect wholesome and uplifting atmosphere.

Review:

My biggest regret this year would be my timing with planning. I wish I would have made fullouT21 a priority in the winter/spring of 2024 and gotten ahead of schedule to have more camp weeks full. I always aim to have growth in the camps each year, however I went down in camp participants this year. I learned to prioritize camps to ensure my plan early on in the year. My biggest success would be adapting to struggle and change. Although there were around 4 major factors that could have made me quit running the camps (no’s from other states, no’s from the DSC, no’s from local venues, and minimal camp registration), I still persevered to have a successful year. Despite the logistical challenges of this 2024 season, my biggest take away was my profound love for the growth of the campers. Watching each camper be timid to participate in group activities on the first day to bursts of laughter and wide smiles stretched across their faces by the last gave me the reassurance that my programs are spreading so much joy in a community that deserves it immensely.  For this, I will never give up my passion to foster a welcoming and impactful summer for the Ds community.