This camp came out of
some research that we had done
which suggested we needed to focus on distress I really just like this
experience because these kids are really awesome
and so why wouldn't we try to increase thier resiliency need to give them
a better future and in many cases our young people
are not given the opportunity to express themselves
this camp provides that opportunity
each day is centered around a different theme
so our whole purpose of this camp is to learn how to tell your story
we realized that stories actually help us identify who we are
they help us realize where we've fit not only in our own story but and the
stories about others as well
so that's where the name your like your story came from
your life your story which is so important
and for me its it it's a learning experience that I would never get in a
textbook are read in a research paper
i think it is very important our community
have a good idea about the United States is not only for work i think is
good
to have another kind of opportunities
for continued study
being in this venue I think is is very important for all kids
for all kids, and for that matter, adults
who simply forgot how listen to kids I'm here because
I want to myself grow
as a mentor and as a student
to help others and to continue to learn
a lot of times they come from places where they don't have these opportunities
for them to have exposure to these
emotional activities, you know, Music arts, sports
is going to give them the opportunity to just explore
what interests them and then just I get deep into it so they can be successful.
And they are look happy and they like it
because I ask questions to them and and then they love it.
we're seeing the kids change i mean kids that wouldn't look at are looking at us
at this kids that wouldn't talk to us are
talking to us they are interacting they're excited
there really into this
I've let myself go I've expressed myself I've
been able to meet new people it's really cool.
My favorite part has been, almost everything
think I'm learning how to be
a better person, and how to deal with stress
and how to be friendlier
I will miss the, um,
being with people like, like
friends like a lot.
like, how much fun it was
the biggest thing I'm going to miss when this
is over need interacting with mentors
my favorite part at camp would probably be the storytelling class
you can express yourself in just telling a little story
So I feel like this is awesome for kids
to learn how to think like this and how to put themselves in other people's
shoes
and I just think it's important that kids learn how to do that.
The goal of the camp is for these kids to have a really good sense of who they are
and what they can do and how they can communicate that to everybody that's
important to them
and that's going to impact their future we want them to be able to
love the fact that they can share
american culture with lets say Mexican or Honduran culture,
Peruvian culture we want them to know that it's okay to be who you are and you
should be excited about that
but the success for students may not come until they find themselves
in a situation where they can use those skill sets that they are receiving in this camp.
and whether its next week next Month as an adult there are always going to remember
the experience
they may not always remember exactly what we did
but the fact that they had this experience I think is what's
memorable and that, to me, is success.