Becoming a Junior Leader
by Goodluck Ajeh, CedarS Intern and Junior Leadership Staff
“I tried a lot of things I didn’t picture myself doing..."
This summer we will be posting updates here that are written by a staff member who is completing a college internship for his Mass Communication major. Please enjoy this post about our first session Junior Leadership program. Photo credits: Hollister Thomas, Carli Walker, Emily Mello, and Kim Howland.
Whether it's water skiing, wakeboarding, wake surfing, roller coaster rides, trust walk activities, or high ropes challenges- you name it. . . The Junior Leadership (JL) program is packed with so many fun activities that help encourage campers to challenge themselves to become a leader.
JL, a program available for rising 9th through 11th graders, welcomed campers from around the world who began their session with get-to-know-you games to build connections among the campers and staff.
JL provides high school aged campers the opportunity to learn and demonstrate how to be effective leaders. The campers demonstrate leadership by hosting several events attended by the main camp. One of the events is Green and White Field Night. During Green and White Field Night, the Junior Leaders are tasked with facilitating various stations (like a dunk station, soccer relay-race, and water balloon toss) and teaching each cabin the activity. The night was filled with laughter echoing in the air. The campers had a blast!
JL gives campers the opportunity to head off the camp property by going on ski days to Lake Pomme de Terre, Silver Dollar City (SDC), and Big Surf. During the traditional ski day, campers get outside their shell by trying new skills behind the boat like wakeboarding, wake surfing, and water skiing.
A camper in the Treehouse (JL boys’ cabin) was grateful for all the experiences he had during the first session. He explained, “I made new friends, and I had deeper connections with people… SDC was fun, and it made me challenge myself to have fun while conquering my fear of heights.”
Campers have been able to demonstrate leadership on various occasions and challenged themselves to try new things that might be outside their comfort zone. A camper in the Dome (JL girls’ cabin), had this to say about all the new things she got to try, “I tried a lot of things I didn’t picture myself doing. I tried the high ropes course and I’m proud of myself for facing that challenge." CedarS gave her the opportunity to go on her first horseback ride. She felt supported by the wranglers, and the instructions they gave were helpful.
As the session came to an end, campers were emotional as they spent their last night with each other singing their hearts out during karaoke night. They wrapped up the session with gratitude and shared their goodbyes as their first session JL experience came to an end.
