Monday, July 30, 2012

A little bit of this and that...


The past few days have been an adventure for all of us!

From our special guest speakers giving educational workshops, to adopting new advocacy strategies, and to ending our nights with different fireside stories; together, we are on the journey of learning.

 Dr. Beth Benedict, a professor from Gallaudet University who resides in Maryland, had the opportunity to give her important message on how we can get involved with Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI). We learned that it is crucial for Deaf children to know their first language: American Sign Language (ASL). The campers and staff truly benefitted from this workshop.

Dr. Beth Benedict giving her workshop.

Campers are intrigued.

In addition, NAD YLC was also proud to have Maureen Behrens, who has been giving wonderful workshops on anti-bullying; and how we can make NAD YLC a Bully-Free Zone. The workshop ended with everyone signing a poster that represents the code of honor and steadfast commitment that NAD YLC is a safe place.

Maureen Behrens providing her bullying workshop.

Campers being actively involved.

Group process on bullying.
 Besides the wonderful workshops, we also teach our campers about how to clean the bathrooms, their cabins, and the Leadership Hall (cafeteria). The campers develop teamwork strategies by delegating tasks to each other and completing them effectively within a respective time manner.

"Bathroom cleaning time!" says our camp counselor Renca Dunn.
Samantha Fowler and Shaz Booth demonstrating what teamwork is all about!
Jacob Bowen, Mekayla Walker, and Lauren Goldberg being creative.
Our amazing campers arranged this seating plan for our lunch.

 Every night we usually provide fun-filled activities for campers and staff to be involved with. It’s called “Evening Program.” For the last few nights, we have played Actionary (like Pictionary, but acting instead!),  Tortoise and Hare and Ultimate Frisbee.

The tortise and hare race begins.

Team A encourages team member, Christine Marshall during the game.

Everyone wants that frisbee!

Quinton Johnson leads a chant as his team follows.

We also had our fireside chats that included Dr. Benedict and Ms. Behrens. We enjoyed listening through our eyes when they shared their personal stories. Dr. Benedict talked about how she crossed paths with her husband, Dwight Benedict, at NAD YLC in Minnesota 37 years ago! Ms. Behrens explained the challenging process of adopting her beautiful daughter from India, Neelamma.

Team D introducing Dr. Beth Benedict for her fireside story.

 Yesterday, we had “Organization Day.” This day included a lot of different activities for each group to go through in order to establish their dream organization. The staff taught the campers essential tools of how to implement, operate, and maintain an organization just as the team members learn how to work together, develop negotiating skills, and learn how to contribute to the community for a greater cause.

Our campers having a good time.

Jose Escalera engaging into the activity.

 The NEXUS team is now looking forward for the 4 groups to get their group names that they will have for the entire month. We know that our 4 groups are fully charged and ready to show what they have in store for us!

 Until next time,

NEXUS




Sunday, July 29, 2012

It Begins With You

The time is finally here! For the past two weeks, we have been busy with our staff training and welcoming our 63 new campers to the 43rd Youth Leadership Camp (YLC)! On July 12th, the NAD YLC staff assembled in Oregon, very anxious to get our training before the campers arrived. This year was longer than usual with 10 days of staff training where team-building activities, workshops, and leadership development were covered. The highlight of the training was when we created our team name: NEXUS!
We were thrilled to have Shira Grabelsky, from the DEEP organization, to give a day-long workshop on the concept of “Leave No Trace” (LNT). She also joined us for few days and shared her expertise and knowledge in wilderness philosophy.
 
Amy Weeks, from Pennsylvania, reflected, “I do have a lot of knowledge about outdoor living skills, but I never knew how to train other people by sharing my knowledge. After the staff training, I felt very prepared for the campers and developed new skills of how to teach campers to discover their skills as well.”
 
We felt humbled to have Maureen Behrens provide a workshop on Love and Logic: Anti-Bullying. Behrens will return and present on anti-bullying for the campers, which definitely will be a rewarding experience.
 
The staff received an in-depth training by Stephanie Johnson regarding Anti-Bias/Sensitivity which truly touched our hearts.
 
Upon the completion of the training, the day we have been preparing for finally arrived on July 23rd. Our 63 campers, who were ready to learn, set their foot on the grounds of Camp Taloali . We opened up an ice breaker game which was led by camp counselors, Derrick Behm and Amanda Geffen, along with a kick-off cookout filled with delicious burgers and hotdogs which were prepared by our awesome chefs.
 

The 1st group of campers that arrived at the airport.
The 2nd group that arrived at the aiport.

  
“When I first arrived to YLC, I was really nervous,” said Natalie Grace from Georgia, “But, it was more of a confident-nervous kind of feeling. I do have a stage fright, but I am looking forward for YLC to teach me how to overcome this.”
 

Joshua and Amy are excited that the campers are on their way to camp!

The campers and staff are playing the “I Say Go” game.
 
Jacob Thorton from Ohio mentioned that he was very impressed with how all campers arrived at camp with high motivation and assertiveness to gain knowledge from NAD YLC.
On July 24th, we had Initiation Day which means the campers had the opportunity to get acquainted with each other as well do some self-assessment. Before we began, all of our campers and staff took the Myers-Briggs Task Inventory (MBTI) test. Each of us were able to reflect on our existing leadership styles.
  
When we completed the MBTI test, the campers underwent a process of grouping up where they eventually ended up in four different teams, respectively. These four groups will remain as teams for the entire month. They will be creating their new team names soon!
  
As part of the initiation day, the campers learned their teammates’ names and enjoyed different team-building activities to establish connections among each other. One of the team-building activities was to build a catapult. Each team had to build a catapult to present to the staff. The four teams accomplished the activity with flying colors!
 
On July 25th, the campers began their day by attending the Leadership Development Program (LDP) training which is facilitated by our camp director, Jonathan Kessel. We also had the pleasure of having Usherla DeBerry come here and give a workshop on the importance of “Customer Service.” The campers enjoyed her presentation and learned a lot of new tips for proper customer service. The campers continued their day with different classes, evening program and finished the day with a fireside chat.
  

Jonathan Kessel gives his LDP workshop to campers.

Campers are watching Jonathan Kessel eagerly as he gives his workshop.

Usherla DeBerry giving her workshop on Customer Service.

Usherla DeBerry had the campers do a scavenger hunt as part of her workshop!

NEXUS team introducing themselves to campers.

And the night ended with our traditional chant!
 
We are looking forward to more activities and special guest speakers in the coming days!
Until next time,
NEXUS

Nexus

Introducing you to our staff members for the Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) 2012!
We proudly present you our NEXUS team that will be working closely with the campers for this following month. Before we begin, we want to explain you what NEXUS means and what our motto is! NEXUS means the “core” or the “center.” It is a mode of a connection. So, our duty is to connect our leaders of tomorrow by setting up ourselves (the core) as examples. Our motto is “Influence is Infinite.” One cannot deny the power of influence. Our goal is to ensure that the influence we give will be infinite so our campers may leave YLC with tools to influence others. It all begins with YOU.


Allie Rice
Youth Program Director
Interesting Fact: I used to own a bearded dragon.

Jonathan Kessel
Camp Director
Interesting Fact: I used to own more than 25 animals in a house at once!

Mark Ramirez
Assistant Director
Interesting Fact: I blow-dried my goldfish when I was five years old (sorry).

Rachel Benedict
Business Manager
Interesting Fact: Ever since I began skiing as a two-year-old, I never missed a season.

Isabella Kogan
Administrative Assistant
Interesting Fact: Petting a cheetah is something that I crossed off my bucket list.

Ericka Baylor
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I am proud of my intensive African attire collection.

Cory Behm
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I ski the slopes during the day and then shred them during the night!

Derrick Behm
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I just returned from an eight-week backpacking trip in Southeast Asia. There, I ate tarantulas and snakes!

Priscilla Biskupiak
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I drove over 10,000 miles by myself by roadtripping across America in my 1990 Ford Bronco II.

Renca Dunn
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: During the summer of 2011, I rode across USA from California to Florida on my bicycle to support a cause.

Chad Ervin
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: My vertical jump is 25 inches.

Amanda Geffen
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I completed 16 one-thousand pieces jigsaw puzzles in a year.

John Hathaway
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I have been to one of the seven wonders in the world, Machu Picchu in Peru.

Noel King
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: Although I do not own a motorcycle, I have a motorcycle license, but I own a 1986 Honda Elite 250cc Scooter. One of the things on my bucket list one day is to own a motorcycle one day.

Kayla LaBruno
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: As a camper of YLC 2009, I won Miss Congeniality and All-Around Leader award. I also love my “other” name: Hippie Raka.

Stefano Scarna
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I have been to 40 states and I plan to ride a bicycle across America one day.

Jerry Sears
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I love New York City so much, but I do not want to live in NYC in the future.

Amy Weeks
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I own two snakes and two cats.

Joshua Weinstock
Camp Counselor
Interesting Fact: I still have a bump on my head from my fall when I was 3 years old.

Head Chef Ashley Foster and Assistant Chef Trevor Churn

Camp Nurse Michelle Young

Until next time,
NEXUS