We have read all of your amazing stories and viewed every beautiful picture entered for the 2021 Summer Camp Story contest. It was very difficult to choose our first and second place winners, as there were so many wonderful stories!
That being said, we are pleased to share the Second Place Summer Story Winner…
Maria Fernanda Montes Navarro, Support Staff at Camp Cody!
IENA loved Maria’s story as it showed her wonderful involvement at camp as a support staff member, her connection with the campers, and her growth over the summer. Maria, we hope to see you return to camp in 2022 as an Arts Counselor! 😉
Congratulations to Maria, and thank you for sharing your story with us!
This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work at Camp Cody in New Hampshire. A beautiful camp in which one I felt inside of a movie, living in the middle of woods, with the beautiful Ossipee Lake complementing perfectly the landscape. It is impossible to say only one story of so many that I could live in just 10 weeks, which could be considered the best of my entire life. Meeting incredible people who touched my heart and left a mark forever, each of them filled my summer with joy and without them my experience never had been the same. I say thanks to this experience that made me grow as a person to an unimaginable level, having as a teaching how happy you can be leaving your comfort zone, doing a lot of things that I never expect to do. Say only one story is very difficult for me, but I have to do it and my story is the next one: in the camp I was a housekeeper, but they also give me the opportunity to be in charge of the ice cream shop at camp. I had to give ice cream after lunch and at night, to the campers. It was a job that required a lot responsibility, a good attitude, tolerance, and smiles.
This opportunity gave to me a lot of good memories and I could get to know more with all the children even being support staff. See how receiving ice cream lit up their eyes, it made me understand the innocence of children, and how little things could give us a lot of joy. I became the ice cream lady responsible to give joy and illusion to children. So, I decided to leave a part of me in the ice cream shop. I started to make a flag of my country with wood, paints and brushes; every day after finishing my activities I painted and improved every detail. While doing this, some campers saw me and they asked me for help to make a flag as well. So, every afternoon we met at the picnic tables to do it. So, I went from just being a housekeeper, to lady ice cream and an art teacher. That was incredible for me, because the kids asked me to be art counselor the next year, letting me know that I’m good in something that I never thought about it. As I said, I wanted to leave a part of me in the ice cream shop, and that was my Mexican flag, show how I am proud of my country, and how this Mexican left a mark in the lives of children because I gave joy to them. And this is only a short story about my experience, everything was amazing and I really want to come back the next year!
Congratulations again to Maria! Stay tuned to see the First Place Summer Story Winner!
Thank you to everyone who entered their picture and shared their story with us! It was a pleasure to hear about your experiences! Don’t forget to follow us on instagram @iena_inc to see if your photo/story is highlighted!