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… can you see me?
I was the very proud counselor of Manzi 4!
After camp in 2004, I went back home to Calgary, Canada to finish off my bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the University of Calgary. I was born and raised in Calgary. If you have never heard of it, it’s a town of about one million people that is located an hour east of the Rocky Mountains. I spent my childhood there playing in the snow and cold during the winter, snowboarding or skating, and camping and biking and running around with friends during the summer.
I just couldn’t bear the thought of not heading back to beautiful Camp Augusta in 2005, so I hopped on a plane for camp the day after my graduation. In 2005 I returned as a HERO. I worked with the horses, did some climbing and had a great time with everyone at camp.
Where have you been for the last two summers you ask?
After camp in 2005, I got my first real nursing job! It was very exciting and very far away from home. I decided I was tired of six months of this
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I started riding English in Orange County, something I had always dreamed of doing. This is “Stang,” who was teaching me how to not fall off in front of jumps…. In May, I leased a horse named Dexter who had been living in someone’s backyard for a while and he and I got to know each other and spent 8 months jumping fences. We had a lot of fun riding around together! We even competed at a horse show, something I had always wanted to try, and won some ribbons. It was a lot of fun and a challenge for us both. I was SO nervous! Dexter loves sugar and was always quite sure I had some in my pocket for him. He was usually right. He sadly couldn’t come to camp so is down in Southern California with his new mother.
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The reason for the big move down south was a job at a great hospital working with all ages of children, from newborns to teenagers, taking care of both them and their families while they were in the hospital. I used all of the wonderful things I learned at Camp Augusta at work, telling stories and playing games to get kids moving around instead of sitting in their beds watching television. I really believe in the strength of teaching children through play and my experience at both the hospital and at camp have shown me how effective this can be.
While working down south was rewarding and challenging, I started missing healthy kids and being outdoors. I had been popping up to camp during 2006 and 2007; I was the nurse for Session 5 and 6, but I wanted to make a more long term move. How could I miss the chance to spend another summer at magical Camp Augusta? There were no oatmeal fights or dress up days at the hospital! I missed the smiling happy faces and helping to provide the opportunity to show children the joy that can be found in the crash of water over the falls or waking up to the sound of birds in the morning. For me, Camp Augusta is a land of limitless potential, where almost anything you can imagine can be made possible, even if it’s not in quite the way you expected. I couldn’t miss another summer of possibility so I moved up here in February and have been working with the other staff to make camp even more amazing than last year!
I love nursing and it has a place in my life, but I’m not sure quite where yet… I have a passion for working with children and seeing them make connections with the world around them. I appreciate their honesty and forgiveness when faced with stressful situations and I like working with them and their families in those times to make it as positive an experience as I possibly can. The thought of doing some volunteer work overseas is very tempting; the challenge of working in a new culture with limited resources and a small community is a strong draw for me. These are actually similar traits that attract me back here year after year. I think I can be of service in some way, that I can share some of the skill and knowledge that I’ve learned. I’ve been trying to find a way to combine nursing with a focus on teaching, working with children and families, and a healthy dose of working outside, perhaps with horses. If you think of anything, please share. :-)
I am returning this year as an assistant director, meaning I get to spend a lot of time helping to create possibilities, whether it be for a magical fairy tea time or a game of dodge ball in the dark. I am excited to learn all I can about ways to do this better during the summer and to spend time with campers both known and new to me.
Being here in February has made me realize how much magic you all bring with you when you come up that driveway and I can’t wait for you all to arrive! To go hiking up the Yuba River and raft back down, to sing together at campfires, to dress up in costumes and be someone different for a day! To see those campers I remember from 2004 get their five year boxes! I am excited to see who/what the Pirates take hostage this year and what the creative minds of all the campers and staff can come up with. I am ecstatic to see old friends and make new ones. I am in awe of the amazingness that happens here every summer without fail and I am thrilled to be a part of that again.
See you soon!
Jenn
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