Building Young Lives Through Camping

This is a first-hand story from Ben Stenhaug, one of our youth camp counselors at YMCA Camp Streefland. Ben's story shows the effect YMCA camps can have on young lives. As you read along, remember back to when you were that age, and see if a smile doesn't cross your face!

John is respectful, responsible, honest, caring, and his main goal at camp is to have as much fun as he possibly can. As his counselor my job is to assist in this quest for fun while still ensuring his safety. John makes balancing that line difficult; being the adventurous type, he’s been seen up to his knees in the lake, known to run off chasing a frog, and tackling less aggressive players in our group's weekly football game. During the three weeks I’ve been with John, I’ve become more understanding of his behavior and more able to connect with him.

On a routine Thursday afternoon, John broke Camp Streefland’s primary rule: he ran away from his counselor. He didn’t run away from me to make me worry or to make my job more difficult. He ran away because chasing frogs is fun. A few minutes later when I tracked John down I was prepared to scold him, but looking at the situation through John’s eyes reveals his innocence. Of course I had to make sure he didn’t run away from me again, but I didn’t feel like being too harsh when he was simply trying to have a little fun at Camp. After all, that’s what Camp Streefland is all about. Instead of yelling at him I pulled him aside and had a valuable conversation with him. “John! Why did you run away from me? You know that’s not okay.” I asked. “I caught a huge frog, sorry, I knew right where you would be,” he responded. John was right. Being a veteran camper he knew right where the pool is and there is no doubt that John would have showed up in his swim suit a few minutes later if his detour went unnoticed. After a few unimportant questions I arrived at a compelling response. “Do you act up like this at school,” I asked. “Yeah, I’m a bad kid at school, my teachers don’t like me - I got six detentions last year” he responded. “But you’re such a good kid at camp. How come you listen to me but not your teachers?” I asked. His response still warms my heart, “You’re cool, you are way better than my teachers, you are the best.” That’s the moment it occurred to me that if I am simply helping my campers have a fun time a golden opportunity has been missed.

These kids look up to me, they listen to everything I tell them. I have an opportunity that parents and teachers don’t have. It comes from being “cool” in the campers eyes. I’m “cool” in the campers eyes because parents are attempting to raise a good kid, while teachers are trying to force feed education to these kids, I’m simply trying to have fun with them. It may also stem from my long white Nike shorts and 18 year old physique, but regardless of the reason, the opportunity remains. My words, the messages I send, mean much more than anyone else’s. So I explained to John that his teacher isn’t trying to make his life difficult, his teacher is trying help him. I explained to him that his teachers are trying to make him smarter so he can truly be whatever he wants to be. I explained to a second grader the importance of education. I don’t think he really understood the implications of my thirty second message, but I do know that he was listening and that he trusts me. To make sure that my message was received I asked, “Will you try to be a good kid at school?” The conversation ended with John responding “It’s hard, I can try.” I tapped him on the shoulder and he ran excitedly towards the pool. From then on I’ve had two goals at camp. The primary goal is always safe fun, but the second and more important goal is make my campers better people outside of camp. That is what Camp Streefland means to me; an opportunity to enrich the lives of the campers in as many ways as possible. In the short run it means fun, in the long run it means making them better people.

Not too long ago I was a camper. I wish my counselor would have sent that message to me. I’ve lived in Apple Valley, Minnesota my entire life. I attended Greenleaf and Echo Park elementary where I caused my share of havoc. I continued on to Falcon Ridge Middle School and eventually through Apple Valley High School where I did well enough to be accepted at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Next week I will be starting a new adventure as I move to Madison.

Through the years I’ve played tennis, basketball, badminton, and football. I enjoy reading, and my intended major is economics. The best investment in our future is education. If I can help my campers be a little bit better students and better people I’ve done my job as a Camp Streefland counselor.