Kids These Days...
Weekly insights for inspiring flexible and thoughtful leaders...
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.”
This moment, this delicate balance of challenge and support, isn’t just a random camp interaction saved for a huge camp event.
It’s intentional mentorship in action. It’s what we’ve been doing at Kenwood & Evergreen for generations. I’ve seen it myself with mentors of my own. And now, the research is catching up to what camp professionals have known all along.
Beyond the activities, beyond the friendships, beyond even the independence, there’s the profound impact of meaningful mentorship that shapes who children become.
The Science Behind Camp Mentorship
Anyone following adolescent development discussions lately might have come across the work of Dr. David Yeager. He’s the author of a great book, “10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People”, and a researcher who’s made waves with what he deems the “Mentor Mindset.”
When I first encountered his work, I couldn’t help but smile.
What Dr. Yeager has carefully studied and documented is exactly what great camp counselors have been doing naturally for decades. The Mentor Mindset isn’t complicated, but it is powerful. At its core, it’s about combining high support with high expectations.
At K&E, we’ve always trained our counselors to say, in effect: “I care about you deeply and believe in you, AND I expect great things from you.” Not just one or the other. Both simultaneously.
Yeager’s research confirms what we’ve seen summer after summer: adolescents thrive when they feel both supported and challenged by adults they respect.
They build confidence.
They develop resilience.
They take healthy risks that propel their growth.
Once we understand what motivates adolescents, we can actually align our approach to working with them so that we’re not constantly battling. Instead, it’s understanding them from the inside out. And it allows us to be more effective mentors and coaches.
David Yeager has been a friend for several years, and it’s been an honor to have a chance to interview him in front of hundreds of people late last year in Massachusetts and again this year in Dallas for camp directors all across the country.
What’s particularly striking about Yeager’s work is his emphasis on the adolescent need for validation from both peers and respected adults.
At camp, we create a community where that validation comes not from Instagram likes or TikTok followers but from living our values and yours, supporting others, and stretching beyond our comfort zones.
This isn’t something we stumbled into by accident. Camp has always been an intentional community designed to help young people discover their best selves.
We just happen to do it while having a whole lot of fun.
The Mentorship Journey at K&E
When I was 12 years old, I had a K&E counselor named David Lepow who changed the trajectory of my life. David embodied that perfect balance of high support and high expectations wrapped in genuine care. He was a great camp counselor and a great person. That summer fundamentally changed my path in life by giving me a glimpse of my leadership potential and changing my belief in myself.
This tradition of meaningful mentorship continues at K&E today. It’s the invisible scaffolding in everything we do, providing support while keeping campers in the spotlight. A safety net is present, but not obvious, because challenges should feel like real growth opportunities.
For example, our oldest kids are matched with our youngest kids for a big brother, big sister program, helping to instill these ideals early by giving them real responsibilities as leaders and role models. And our staff meets campers where they are, guiding them toward growth in the process.
Mentorship at K&E isn’t accidental. It’s by design. Our staff training goes far beyond running activities and going through safety rules and regulations. We want to focus intensely on developing the qualities that make exceptional mentors. Things like empathy, communication, and the ability to balance challenge with support are all part of our training.
And it’s not an accident that over 50% of our staff were once campers themselves. This creates a powerful chain where values and traditions are passed down naturally. These former campers-turned-counselors and our huge number of returning staff are our “secret weapon” because they already embody our community’s ethos before training even begins.
Renowned author and child psychologist Michael Thompson captures this perfectly in his book Homesick and Happy when he writes, “It is the very challenge of camp that makes it such a life-changing experience for so many children.” Mentors are critical here.
We’re creating what Thompson calls “an intentional community that builds people up”—a place that surrounds your children with exactly the kind of mentorship they need to thrive.
The Lasting Impact of Camp Mentorship
These K&E moments don’t stay at camp. I regularly hear from former campers about how a particular conversation or experience with a counselor shaped their life’s direction.
Recently, a former camper who is now a husband and father texted me saying, “If we hadn’t talked behind Bunk 2 when I was 12, my wife never would have married me. Changed my life.”
Our alumni tell these stories all the time. How they found their strengths at camp. How the young women they grew up with during their summers at camp are inspiring leaders now and how their years at camp were foundational in their self-belief.
Even decades later, our former Kenwood campers reach out to their bunkmates and the counselors they had when they were young as trusted friends and advisors with whom they can share anything. Life-long friendships. Foundational and unshakable.
These aren’t isolated stories. They come from the confidence, resilience, and self-belief that develop through these relationships, serving children well beyond when they pack their bags and get on the bus at the end of the summer.
When faced with challenges in school, relationships, and eventually careers, they draw on the inner strength fostered by people who helped them, guided them, believed in them. Mentored them.
Kids these days are increasingly surrounded by screens rather than meaningful human connections, and in this new paradigm, camp offers something irreplaceable: authentic mentorship in an intentional community built to help them flourish.
As we prepare for another summer of running, swimming, singing, playing, and growing, I’m most excited about the mentorship moments that will unfold—moments that, though they may seem small at the time, have the power to change lives.
A million moments…in every summer.
With warm regards and gratitude for our wonderful community, Scott
