Staff Spotlight: Freight Train (FT)

Camp Benson Campers and Parents,

I’m Freight Train and I’ve been coming to camp for 13 years. Hopefully I still have many more years to come. The first time I went to camp I was 6 years old. I went for a full week of camp even though that seems like a long time for a 6-year-old to be at camp, but the camp director at the time told my parents to send me because all my older siblings were at camp. I was very nervous about coming to camp my first week because I didn’t know what to expect. As the time got closer and closer to go to camp, my siblings kept telling me it was a lot of fun.

The first person I met was Toothbrush, who was my counselor. After he told me his nickname I was thinking to myself, “what did I get myself into”. But throughout the week I kept doing the activity’s that they had planned for us to do. After that I told my parent when I got home that I wanted to go back the next week, but that didn’t happen. Ever since then I have been coming to Camp Benson. I’ve been a camper for 7 years and I spent 4 years in the SDP program and the last two years I’ve been on staff.

Camp Benson is a great place for campers to make new friends and try so many different things. Camp Benson can teach campers so many lessons. I know I learned some good ones during my time at camp. Camp can help campers project themselves and not to be afraid to do so. At camp it’s okay to be yourself and not have people make fun of you. Camp is a great place for campers to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones that they have met beforehand. Camp also teaches campers to be honest, respectful, caring, and responsible. Camp reminds campers to include everyone no matter what. I know that camp has helped me over the years to develop these skills in my life and I use them both at camp as well as outside of camp.

I am currently going to Highland Community College in Freeport, Illinois. With hopes of becoming a middle school teacher. My goals are to graduate and become a teacher and help kids succeed. I plan on transferring to Northern Illinois after I get done at Highland. Then after a few years there hopefully become a teacher. I wanted to become a teacher after working out at camp because I saw how I can impact kids lives on a daily.

Don’t forget to Camp on.

Your Friend and two year maintence staff member,

Freight Train or FT (whatever is easier to say)