Here's the story: 17 summers ago, the summer prior to my first grade year in elementary school, my parents signed me up for a summer program here in Albany, NY, called the Heldeberg Workshop. So named as the property on which the program is run lies beneath the Heldeberg Escarpment, a pretty impressive limestone cliff that runs for about 5 miles or so, located east of the city. A wide variety of classes are offered, ranging from Art to Music, Theatre to Hiking and Caving.
I attended the program every summer up to about 6 summers ago, when I became a CIT, and started helping out with the caving class, which I have continued to do every summer since. 5 summers ago, I joined the work crew, which basically takes care of maintenance and safety issues on the property. 3 summers ago, I became one of the Land Chairs, the position which oversees the work crew while the program in session.
A few weeks ago, I was elected onto the Board of the Directors for the program. There are about 20 or so members of the board total, and at 21 I am the youngest by 8 years, yet with 17 summers under my belt I've been around longer than many other members of the board have. Not only am I really proud of this, but its going to look really good on my resume, which is currently quite lacking in achievements... I havent even finished school yet, and my GPA leaves a bit to be desired.
The Heldeberg Workshop is something that I can seriously see myself investing the rest of my life in. The property is very rural, with hiking trails and lots of wildlife, its a great place to go for walks. The programs are designed to give kids the oppurtunity to learn, while having fun at the same time. When I was a kid, it was the only summer program I ever wanted to return too. I tried other summer camps but they were never as much fun.
I guess I just wanted to share all this with you guys to say one thing: If there is something that you really enjoy, even if you dont see any future with it, stick with it anyways, because you never know what could happen. When I was in first grade, I could never have predicted that I would have accomplished this by now.
I attended the program every summer up to about 6 summers ago, when I became a CIT, and started helping out with the caving class, which I have continued to do every summer since. 5 summers ago, I joined the work crew, which basically takes care of maintenance and safety issues on the property. 3 summers ago, I became one of the Land Chairs, the position which oversees the work crew while the program in session.
A few weeks ago, I was elected onto the Board of the Directors for the program. There are about 20 or so members of the board total, and at 21 I am the youngest by 8 years, yet with 17 summers under my belt I've been around longer than many other members of the board have. Not only am I really proud of this, but its going to look really good on my resume, which is currently quite lacking in achievements... I havent even finished school yet, and my GPA leaves a bit to be desired.
The Heldeberg Workshop is something that I can seriously see myself investing the rest of my life in. The property is very rural, with hiking trails and lots of wildlife, its a great place to go for walks. The programs are designed to give kids the oppurtunity to learn, while having fun at the same time. When I was a kid, it was the only summer program I ever wanted to return too. I tried other summer camps but they were never as much fun.
I guess I just wanted to share all this with you guys to say one thing: If there is something that you really enjoy, even if you dont see any future with it, stick with it anyways, because you never know what could happen. When I was in first grade, I could never have predicted that I would have accomplished this by now.
