First Year Experience

By Brandi Harding (Published in 2007, 30th Anniversary)

My first year at camp has been great. I’ve met a lot of new people. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this has been better than I could have imagined.

One of the best parts of camp I think is that you get to have so much fun with the counselors and other campers. I also liked it when we did our activities. By going to all these different activities, you get to know people better and you have a lot more fun.

I’ve talked to other first year campers and I think the only bad part about camp would have to be doing bathroom duty. But if you clean up your cabin and bribe the judges enough, then you shouldn’t have to worry.

Overall, I know that everybody has had a good time and will continue to remember their camp experiences for years to come.

While here at camp we enjoyed one of the best guest speakers that anybody has ever seen, Bill Cordes. Bill is from Kansas, where he lives with his wife Karla and his three kids, Joshua, Shannon, and Easton. He attended the University of Hawaii.

Bill as traveled to 42 different states talking to high school and college students. He does a wonderful job at getting people involved and he makes great points. I think everybody enjoyed learning new dances and playing games.

He also shared with us the secret to being a good student. All you need to remember is S.L.A.N.T. The “S” stands for sit straight, the “L” stands for lean forward, the “A” means ask questions, “N” stands for nod your head, and the “T” means the “T Zone” which is the front and center rows and talk to your teacher. I don’t think anybody will forget it.

Bill decided to speak to us because just like many other people he knows the FFA helps members in a lot of different ways. Some examples he mentioned were that it brings people together, you learn things hands-on, and there are a lot of activities. I think that every time any of us laugh so hard that we almost pee our pants or we get extra french fries at McDonald’s, we’ll think of Bill and his big goofy smile.

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