SEMO- Southeast Missouri State University Students Visit Camp Ondessonk.
Recently Tom Holman, PHD with the Dept. of Health, Human Performance & Recreation at SEMO- Southeast Missouri State University and his students visited Camp Ondessonk. Below are some quotes from the students reflective writing assignments after their site visit.
“I really enjoyed this camp and want to be a part of it to gain the same qualities that they instill. This camp is a possible internship for me in the summer and I am looking forward to serve, as well grow in this environment.”
“Overall this was the best site visit that we went on this whole year in my honest opinion. Brian had a great and professional approach when giving us this tour and talking about the trends, issues, and duties involved with his job. Walking around the park really sparked interest amongst me and my classmates, and kept us engaged the whole time. This made it easier to listen and comprehend what Brian was talking about, and gave us an idea what beautiful things are in store when working for a camp such as this. I really just had a great time and I highly recommend that you keep visiting this site with your classes in the future. Thank you for taking us to Camp Ondessonk Tom, it was a remarkable and fun experience!”
“I love visiting with Brian! He makes things very interesting. This site visit was by far the best one we have went to because we were able to explore parts of Ondessonk that I have not been to before and my mind was absolutely blown! It was gorgeous out there and we got to see a donkey! I highly look up to Brian and his accomplishments. I enjoy the way he facilitates on the course but also how he spoke to us during our visit. He isn’t intimidating and made us feel very welcome. I feel that Brian takes a very relaxed approach to facilitating and he has a great sense of humor while I feel is very important to keep people interested in the things you are trying to teach them. I’ve said before that if I ever do become a facilitator my style would be very similar to Brian’s. Things that Brian spoke to use that I will keep in mind during my future will be that it pays off the have knowledge in more than just one area. He spoke to us about the importance of maintenance and I’m starting to see a tread as to how important it is. He also spoke about the importance of understanding this things that Bev is teaching us in the Organization and Administration of Rec class right now. I am trying to better understand as to how the information in that class can one day benefit me because I can see how it has benefited Brian.”
“To tell you the truth, I do not really remember any of the trends or issues that we might have discussed. I was too fascinated in the surroundings and the beautiful scenery. I felt like a little kid again, climbing all over the rocks. The waterfall was amazing. It made me forget about all of my troubles. I was in the moment. It made me want to drop everything I was doing and get a job there. I think I can speak for about half of the class when I say that this was the most interesting site visit we have had. It was good for me, and the entire class, to see what kind of opportunities are really out there. That was the very first camp I have ever been to. I never had the opportunity as a child to go to summer camp or anything. I never really understood what they were all about. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there. It would be a blast to take a group of kids back to that waterfall. I know they would enjoy it just as much as I did.”
“WOW!! AWESOME!! I am so glad you saved the best for last! Camp Ondessonk was totally awesome, it does help that I want to go into camp ministry and work at a camp for the rest of my life. First of all Brian is a super cool dude that can do a full camp tour while walking backwards the entire time. I loved this site visit not only because it was super fun and exciting, but its what I want to do with my adult life. Brian stated that one issue is that over the years camp attendance has declined. I want to be one of the people who changes that statistic. I certainly believe that kids today are too addicted to their many electronic devices. They never learned to go outside and get dirty and to truly enjoy nature. I believe a revolution needs to start when it comes to kids and their devices, they do not need them anymore. They need to get away from them and just chill in the awesomeness that is nature.”
SEMO- Southeast Missouri State University Students visit Camp Ondessonk.