This is not the end, only the beginning.

Time has come and gone. Our NAD YLC camp has come to an end for this summer. It is not a good-bye, but a "see you later." We know that each of us will cross paths once again. We wish our campers the best of luck. Each of you are ready to go out to our community and show what you are made of. Remember to use the tools you were taught and bring out the skills that you developed. Building leadership never ends. We are always building every day. As one of the lines from our creed says: "Never ceasing advocacy strengthens the position of the Deaf community." Together, we stand strong. Together, we all achieve. We are looking forward for our next NAD YLC camp to come again next summer. Spread the word. Encourage others to come. Each of us makes a difference in this community. We bid you a farewell- at least for now.

Long Live YLC 2012,

NEXUS

Banquet Night

For our last night at YLC, we had a banquet night held in Leadership Hall. This is a night where we all reflect on the memories we had, the times we shared, and to give out awards for variety reasons. 

A picture is worth a thousand words.

We had an option of having steak or salmon for our 2nd course of our meal.

Our new NAD president, Chris Wagner, sent a vlog to us about
 how we should never stop advocating our community and to congratulate
us for a successful month of camp.

Our design for the banquet night.

Our Youth Program Coordinator, Allie Rice, giving her
advices and words of widsom to campers.

Camp Director Jonathan Kessel and Assist. Camp Director Mark Ramirez gave out awards.
(From Left to Right): Jonathan Kessel,  Miss Congeniality Paige Hawkins, Most Optimistic Camper Johanna Scherling, Most Improved Camper Raven Sutton, All Around Camper Marisa King, Most Emerging Camper and Mr. Congeniality Colin Lualdi, Mark Ramirez.



Winner of most persistent and creative girls cabin for the entire month: CABIN A.
(Left to Right) Cabin inspector Noel King, Counselor Amanda Geffen,
Vianney Bernal, Kaleen Hatfield, Johanna Scherling, Shakira Mason,
 Business Manager Rachel Benedict, Cabin Inspector Joshua Weinstock
(Bottom left to right): Lauren Holtz, Mekayla Walker



Winner of most persistent and creative boys cabin for the entire month: CABIN Jr. NAD
(Left to Right): Cabin Inspector Noel King, Counselor Stefano Scarna,
Ty Wilding, George Dennis, Trevor Dockter, Jacob Bowen,
Counselor Derrick Behm, Cabin Inspector Joshua Weinstock.
(Bottom left to right): Paul Kozak, Jose Escalera

Mistress of Ceremony Briella Diaz thanking our chefs, Ashley and Trevor,
for cooking our meals for the entire month.

Team Crayons won the most points for this month.

YLC Song winners: Cristal Duenas and Leeza Williams

Serving dessert after the awards.



Until next time,

NEXUS

LDP and fireside

Linsay Darnall Jr. giving another LDP workshop.

We have had the pleasure of Jeanette Zarembka come here from Riverside, California to present about how we can set up and improve the Jr. NAD program together.

Jeanette Zarembka sharing her fireside story.

Until next time,

NEXUS

Savoring every moment together...

It is hard to believe how quickly time flies. For the last few days, our campers and staff have been busy wrapping up the final things of camp. We have had several more workshops, fun activities, and awesome presenters.


Linsay Darnall Jr. giving LDP workshop.

 

Campers being proactive.

 

"Your Evening Program" gave the chance for campers to plan
their evening program.Campers chose to play in the water
 sprinklers as some decided to enjoy the view instead.



Playing volleyball with the sprinklers.

Some played basketball.

Staff and campers playing with the water sprinklers.

Sharing stories.

Renca Dunn sharing her fireside story on her journey across
USA on a bicycle for charity: Operation Miles for Smiles.

 

Isabella Kogan presenting about the Global Reach Out (GRO) in India.

Rosina Garcia, Javie Alcazer, and Colin Lualdi watching
Counselor Amy Weeks feeding the fire with wood.



Until next time,

NEXUS

Top Dessert

For one of our evening programs, we had "Top Dessert." The 5 teams, including the NEXUS team, had the opportunity to build a dessert dish with the items given. Each dessert had to be presented to 4 judges. The criteria of the dessert were creativity, appearance, and taste. 

Our 4 judges: Chef Miss Strawberry Shortcake, Chef 360 Degrees,

 Chef Hell's Kitchen, Chef Chuckwagon Joe 

Diazzle's top dessert.



Solar Flare's top dessert.

NEXUS' top dessert.

LEGO's top dessert.

Until next time,

NEXUS

Memories created, memories cherished.

Dan Brubaker and his 8 parables of leadership.

Dan Brubaker has been coming to NAD YLC for nineteen straight years giving his legendary workshop: 8 parables of leadership. His dynamic presentation amazed the campers, and they especially enjoyed his eight activities which correlated with the eight parables.

Campers learning new tools from Dan Brubaker.

Our YLC camp director Jonathan Kessel
greets us good morning.

Our awesome chefs: Ashley and Trevor!

Our chefs constantly work hard every day to make sure that the campers and staff are nourished and well-fed! We thank them for their amazing contribution and hard work!

Meal time!

 We had "Skit Night" where campers had the opportunity to get on stage and provide several skits with instructions. The night ended with smiles and laughters.

Team Diazzle giving their skit on stage.

Team Solar Flare knows how to make their audience laugh!

Team NEXUS also joined the fun "Skit Night."

Team Crayons using their acting skills on stage.

It has been an enriching experience for us to see how much our campers have grown since day one. We know that the campers will be great future leaders for our Deaf community. We look forward to seeing each of them shine their light when they go back home.

Until next time,

NEXUS

Our classes...

At NAD YLC, we have four daily classes as part of our rotation. The campers will go through four classes here at NAD YLC: Advocacy, Outdoor Living Skills, Discovery, and Media. These classes cover different important skills for the camp, to bring back to the campers' schools, and homes as part of personal growth. A lot of the classes cover sensitive topics and provide a safe environment for in-depth discussions of a wide range of topics.

Camp counselors Ericka Baylor and Priscilla Biskupiak
 leading advocacy class.

Campers actively participating.

Editor in Chief Briella Diaz and Assistant Editor in
 Chief working on the Daily Drum for media class.

Media advisor John Hathaway supports camper Christine Keller.

Campers building teamwork skills by
doing activities together for discovery class.

Discovery activity.

Duke Smith learns how to make a fire.

Outdoor Living Skills instructor Cory Behm teaches
campers the different ways of tying knots on logs.

In between classes, the campers enjoy a fifteen-minute canteen break!

Counselor Amanda Geffen and Amy Weeks
take orders for campers' canteen break.

Campers enjoying their snacks from family and friends!

Until next time,

NEXUS