Personal Narrative: My Experience At Camp Koski

If I could go back to any time in the world, I would go back to France in October 1944 on the Western Front. World War Two has always interested me. Being able to see the revolutionary weapons would be incredible. I would also love to take part in such a historic and epic war. War is a horrible event that plays a major part in human development.

After seeing the smiles that seemed almost permanent that week, I realized how important it is to work with and help younger children. I also learned what it’s like knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. I’ve been a counselor at that same camp for two more years since that first summer, and it gets better every time. Even though it can be difficult and frustrating to work with children sometimes, the reward that you, as well as the children, receive is well worth the effort.

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

For two years I worked as a camp counselor for the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA). In this time, I have worked day camps, inclusion camps, social program,s and even an overnight camp for children, teens, and adults with special needs. My responsibilities were to plan crafts and activities that were inclusive to the various needs and abilities of the campers. Most of all, being a camp counselor meant creating a safe and fun environment for each

Ms. Diaz-Harrison has a daughter and she chose to put her in a charter school that specialized in the arts because that fit her daughter’s needs. For her son, who has autism she had no idea where she was going to put him at for school. Ms. Diaz-Harrison decided to open her on charter school in Phoenix. This school was named Arizona Autism Charter School. Her exact words when opening the school was, “we didn’t have a school like that-now we do!”

It gave me a glimpse of what it will be like when I am a teacher someday, and I was able to share with a younger generation one of my passions. The week of the camp I worked for approximately thirty-five hours. The actual camp was twelve hours, and the rest was planning the activities for our classes. I was in charge of teaching voice and directing the play for the end of the week. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of the kids were hesitant to participate at first, but in the end it was rewarding because when I see these kids in the community they see me and usually give me a hug or tell me how much they loved the

Throughout this experience i learned more about myself than i thought possible. But during the volunteer hours that i performed, i completely broke out of my quiet shell. When i started my journey off at a children's sports and adventure camp, it helped me to become a leader, as well as a facilitator. I had to organize, and instruct activities daily. This helped me to become a problem solver as well as a communicator beause of the fact that in dealing with children, youll always run into some delema that youll have to deal with.

During my sophomore year, the community service focus was helping to serve a marginalized community, so I chose to volunteer at an organization called Hope Services. They provide jobs for differently abled adults and an after-school program for differently abled kids, mostly adolescents. Each Friday, I assisted the program directors in making the kids feel comfortable and happy and like they had a friend. Whether it was helping get snacks, play basketball outside, make art projects, or play Just Dance, there were always laughs involved and it just felt like I was hanging out with my friends. However, when I first started volunteering, it was not this relaxed and did not come very easily. Many of the kids either had autism or Down’s syndrome along with some other disorders. It would be difficult to try and understand what they were saying at times, or they would be very clingy and have no sense of personal space. I did not mind this, but it took some getting used to. I learned that the best way to just be their friend was to truly listen to them, because they had so many great stories and ideas to tell,

We had been walking back from the Jorgensen general store when Jimmy saw a kid his age and they started playing catch. We had been sitting there for hours and my wife had been talking to his wife and they invited us to their wagon train because I had told told them how we don't have one yet. Leaving independence, Missouri tomorrow March 8th.

The gravity of my job did not truly set in until the first car drove down the camp road and pulled up to my cabin. Out came two parents and a one Christopher Stark. Chris has a severe form of autism that has impacts him both mentally and physically. His physical appearance was severely impacted by his condition and in was at this instant, when we made eye contact, that the enormity of this situation hit me. However, I couldn't back down now, I had a job to do. So I gave them the biggest smile possible and said, “Hi, I am Robert nice to meet you! I will be your son’s counselor”. Four hours and 8 exact copies of that greeting later I had all of my campers. Once all parents had made their last goodbyes it was now my job to be their parent. I was not even legally allowed

As a child, I remember accompanying my mom to various Adams Camp events. I never truly knew what Adams Camp was until my middle school years. Adams Camp is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing various therapeutic programs for children and families with special needs, as well as hosting recreational programs for fun, social connections, and growth in independence. Adams Camp was founded by one of my mom’s friends, Carol Horney. Carol’s son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and hadn’t taken a step until he turned 5 years old, but only after a week of intensive therapy. Carol believed in supporting others like Adam, and eventually organized the first Adventure Camp a year later. To this day, I know Adam particularly well. Yes he has his funny quirks, but now he is a fully-functioning adult. He has devoted his life to helping others like him, as he holds a job with Developmental Pathways, a company that sustains fundraising for Adams Camp.

It really opened my eyes to how much positivity, love, and joy a person can have. I finished out that summer by volunteering a second week and had the same gratifying experience at the end. The following summer I volunteered for three weeks and realized I had found a passion for recreational therapy.

I am in the Warsaw ghetto with my wife, Havanna and two young boys, Thomas and Herbert. I love my family and will do anything for them, but it is hard to live in a ghetto while being the only person able to provide for 3 others while my wife watches the children. But I don’t think we can survive unless my wife can get a job and we both of our sons are in good hands.

I joined the Marine Corps looking for a challenge. I wanted to open doors for a new career and longed to have a positive impact on the world around me. Looking back five years later, I realize I found all that I originally sought, but I’ve also found something profoundly satisfying and meaningful that I never knew I was missing.

When people have a disability it is life changing for them. They cannot just flip a switch and turn it off; most times it is a permanent ordeal. Participating in this experience opened my eyes even more to specifically what disabled people go through on a daily basis.