By Shayna Warner, Camper Care Coordinator

I was almost 13 years old when the blockbuster film, “Back to the Future” opened in July of 1985. Like so many at the time, we couldn’t even fathom life 30 years down the line. Part of the mystique for me at the time was imagining just how far away that was and not even beginning to comprehend all that would be ahead in my life.

It was just a year later when I began my own journey on Moore Road at GUCI. I think many alumni can recall those first experiences on camp: finding the bath houses (and realizing what a community bathroom would entail!), not really knowing all the words to the songs and the prayers, or the way that strangers would come up to you and just start talking so openly and willingly. I remember one of my first camp friends grabbing me by the hand and walking me around camp, adding me into the experience as though I’d never been apart from this group of people.

My camp experiences grew for many years from there. I was a camper, a counselor, a song leader, and an art specialist in Zionsville. Camp became the place where I always felt as though I belonged; I could explore and develop my identity in a safe place. My peer group and I grew up being nurtured by others who had done the same before us and these experts guided us through the challenges that inevitably came along summer after summer.

The values and experiences I learned at camp have proven to be a large part of the foundation of my professional and personal life. Camp taught me life skills about independence and community building. Writing and executing creative programming helped me to be a better educator. Sitting with campers as they struggled with life challenges gave me stronger senses of compassion and patience. All of these skills, and more, shaped me as I became a wife, a social worker, and a mother.

I have the privilege of returning to GUCI again this summer as the Camper Care Coordinator (the Camp Social Worker). In this role I have the opportunity to help our campers and staff when challenges inevitably arise. It is my honor to assist and witness a new generation of leaders and nurturers becoming the experts and building the skills.

What astonishes me the most after nearly 30 years is that time travel here is completely possible. Yes, the challenges have adapted to modernity, but so much feels, sounds and smells exactly the same. More than that, it is sometimes downright surreal. The faces all feel familiar, and in many cases are the same (kinda) when so many former members of our GUCI family send their children here.

Time travel happens when I see two children walking together, and I know that their parents developed friendships with one another in this exact same space. Time moves and suspends at the end of the Friday night song session when the Chadar Ochel is filled with the beautiful sound of camp singing in harmony. Time travel is possible as I watch my own son develop a new friendship with a cabin mate whose mother was once my co-counselor at this same camp. Is it the science fiction of film? Is it magic? Whatever it is, there is no question it is sacred.

When we send our children to camp we are giving them immeasurable gifts. Kids learn how to live together, to develop a sense of self-reliance and cooperation that is so hard to find in our fast-paced world today. As a parent I see the value of letting go of the parenting reigns and allowing our kids see other ways of management and living. For as challenging as it is to send our children away, I sincerely believe the rewards outweigh the separation challenges parents feel.

I never would have imagined that nearly 30 years after setting foot on camp I would one day be able to work with an inspiring new generation of GUCI staff. I could only have dreamt of a day that I would be at this place with my own family, sharing it with my husband as he serves on faculty. It was unfathomable for me to imagine that in my future my own sons would know the same traditions, songs and experiences that make camp so special.

Now that we made it back to the future in 2015 I’d say things look pretty great from here in Zionsville. As each person in our camp community (new and old) engages in the magic of camp the possibilities remain strong and endless. As long as we continue to instill the love of camp in each new generation it is safe to say that “where we’re going we won’t need roads”.