Last year, several upperclassmen applied to become a mentor for science camp. Students could earn community service hours by being a science camp mentor. From the 28th through the 31st of October, these students stayed at Sky Mountain Outdoor Education Center to mentor middle schoolers attending science camp.
In an interview with Senior Shayne Hackney, they explained that they first heard about the opportunity to become a mentor for science camp “over the announcements”. When asked why they chose to participate they said, “I always wanted to. I always heard stories [about it] and I had so much fun doing it in middle school that I always wanted to be a counselor.”
Senior Danny Vargas was inspired by his science camp experience stating, “My first cabin counselor told us that he was from West High and that he got the opportunity to do this.” He kept in touch with a couple of teachers that oversaw the applications, ready to apply when the time came.
When I asked what their science camp experience was like as a mentor, Hackney explained, “It was something new every day. You have a story for every single day.” They recalled, “The group of girls I had were absolutely amazing. I grew a good connection with my kids. I felt like I was able to get them to open up to each other and become friends with each other.”
Senior Mason Andrews had a funny experience. He explained, “I think what is always going to stick with me is that I started with fourteen [boys] to look after, and I ended [the week] with nine. I basically lost a boy every single day. They moved one boy out of my cabin, another one got sick, and another one got home sick. Another one moved, so many things [happened]. But I
definitely enjoyed our beach day because our specialist let them play in the sand for an extra half hour and [when] we got back on the bus, they would not shut up about how happy they were.”
Overall, Hackney believes that “it’s a very good experience. I know some people kind of just do it for community service hours, which is fair, but I feel like even if you do it just for that, you’re going to have fun.”
Andrews adds to that stating, “It definitely tests your patience, working with kids like that.” It was a new experience and “a good learning experience for not just the kids, but the leaders themselves.”
Vargas states, “I think the main take away from all my science camp [experiences] is my kids and what they gain from it and kind of the confidence you see them build from the first day into the last day and the kind of sadness that you get from going away but knowing that you’ve left them with unforgettable memories and [having] unforgettable memories yourself too.”
