When Arthur and Judy entrusted me with K&E’s future in 1995, they didn’t just hand over keys to camp. They passed along a sacred responsibility. Entrusting someone else with a place that had shaped thousands of lives, including my own. It has been my greatest honor to carry that trust forward. I was thinking about this over the weekend at Visiting Day when making another big announcement for K&E.
It’s mid-July here at camp, and outside of our wonderful camp bubble, it has been a truly tragic week. I wake up every day and think about what happened in Texas and feel a surge of sadness, but I will myself back into my immediate reality…what is going on here, on the shores of Eagle Pond. I am in the here and now with a camp full of amazing kids and staff, and this is what I want to focus on today with all of you.
It’s Wednesday night at 9:30 pm as I send this, and I can still hear the echoes of hundreds of voices singing together tonight. But before we even get to that, you already know that late this afternoon, the kids arrived at camp. There was the best kind of nervous energy everywhere. At our bus stops, parents doing that thing where you smile bravely while your heart does somersaults, as you waved goodbye through the bus windows.
It’s June, but for a second, let’s take a long walk back to a Saturday afternoon in early May. New families are gathering at Everwood for what we call our JC Weekend and New Camper Event.. Kids meeting kids. Parents meeting parents. Everyone getting a taste of what summer will bring. But look closer. The counselors leading these activities, teaching the cheers, high-fiving the shy kids? They aren’t our seasoned staff (who we’ll get to shortly). These staff are 17 years old and it’s their first moment as counselors.
The other day, I found myself doing something I never imagined I’d do. Asking ChatGPT for guidance about tomorrow, especially where our kids are concerned. It wasn’t because I don’t trust my instincts in this area, but because I wanted to see what an AI would say about preparing children for… well, a world full of AI. The question was fairly simple: “What skills will kids need to thrive in a world with AGI?” The response came back instantly (AI is very fast). The skills list looked like this…
We all want our kids to be happy. And we all want to see our kids grow into successful, fulfilled human beings. I don’t think those two sentences are in any way controversial. But just because we want these things to be true, it isn’t always easy seeing the path to make it happen, that these two desires can create tension. The Atlantic published a piece this week by Russell Shaw titled “The Wrong Way to Motivate Your Kid,” which instantly caught my eye. Partly it was because the headline was a bit click-baity. After all, we’ve all seen our share of articles that highlight something “wrong” and then promise simple fixes to complex challenges.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Hollowpalooza, the K&E concert that’s among the best things we do all summer. I could have just as easily written about Color War, Big Weekend, or even Carnival. But for now, with Hollowpalooza in mind, just picture this: A nervous first-time performer stepping up to the stage, guitar in hand, looking out at a sea of supportive faces. “I don’t think I can do this,” they think quietly to themselves. And almost sensing this internal dialogue, this quiet uncertainty, a K&E counselor leans in and says something simple: “I know it feels scary. But I also know you’re ready for this. And we’ll be right here backing you up the whole time.”
Dear Camp Family… The stage is set, and you can feel the anticipation. For weeks, campers have been buzzing at meals and during activities about the lineup. A veritable who’s who of singers, songwriters, musicians, and performers. The bill is packed for three hours of pure musical magic, stretching well into the evening. She steps up to the stage. Guitar in hand. Breath held. Looking out at the sea of familiar faces, heart racing with a mixture of excitement and nerves. A famous celebrity? A rock icon? Taylor Swift, maybe? Beyoncé on a camp tour stop?
Dear Camp Family… The two most difficult moments of a K&E summer are very easy to pinpoint, though you might be surprised at them. For parents, it’s the bus engine humming in the parking lot while you watch your child step up and out, finally embarking on that big moment. Off to Kenwood & Evergreen. You spent hours packing their bags a couple of weeks back and stuffing them with carefully labeled clothes, favorite stuffed animal peeking out from the top, and a heart full of mixed emotions, mostly excitement.
A little more than 50 years ago, I received one of the greatest gifts I could have ever imagined, even if I didn’t 100% see it like that at the time. It was when Sheila, a single parent in New Jersey, working on her college degree at night, took out a payroll loan in order to send me to Kenwood & Evergreen. We didn’t have much, but she made camp the top priority because she knew my cousins loved it there. She knew I would love it. She believed it was the right thing for me, at the time, and for my future. She was right.
