Testimonials

• It showed me that we are all more similar inside than we appear to be on the outside and in recognizing that we can all work together successfully, meaningfully and productively with a greatly positive outcome.

• Attending these trainings during my formative years contributed to my life skills and perspective for the rest of my life

• The impact is immeasurable. WASC leadership camp is the most influential experience I have had in my life. It has had great influences on my attitude and overall outlook on life. It is admittedly hard to separate my original four experiences as a delegate from dozens of experiences I have had on staff at leadership camp over three decades, but I can tell you that I think about my experiences every day.

• When I first attended the WASC leadership camp, I was an extremely shy kid. I just didn't know what an introvert was yet. That first year of camp, I had a hard time finding my way among the extroverts. By going back a second year, I found who I was and was able to participate more. And becoming a JC got me a lot of the way to where I am as an adult.

• Attending camps with students from other high schools enabled me to connect with a variety of peers, without the pre-existing social hierarchy within my own high school setting. I felt empowered and socially accepted in a more meaningful way, which strengthened my self confidence and fostered my journey to become an authentic leader.

• I'm still alive

• Gained confidence, saw myself as a leader, learned strength and weaknesses that I still think about and work on 25 years later

• It set me on a path to leadership which still impacts my life, 30 years later

• I created a tool kit for myself as a youth, to better prepare me for adulthood.
WASC changed my life. It gave me permission to feel all the emotions and learn how to be me. It gave me confidence I never knew I had. There isn’t enough room on this survey to explain how camp still impacts my daily life. Friends, connections, career, family, …..

• WASC and Don Larson gave me my start in leadership development. I went on to lead General Electric's Leadership Development Corporate University for 335,000 employees and for 7 years. I now have my own consultancy as a Performance and Business Strategist.

• WASC Leadership Camp is the single thing I point to as having the largest impact on who I am today. It's impact is felt in all areas of my life - personal and professional, as well as the relationship I have with myself. It gave me knowledge, but also experiences that really shaped who I am today.

• I have increased confidence, self advocacy, awareness of others and their struggles, and I’m more able to serve others instead of only myself.
Leadership training has given me opportunities for personal reflection and evaluation. I have become a better teacher, advisor and parent because of the training I have experienced.

• It was really an awakening for me in my middle school years. I met so many different inspiring people who had a ton of energy and warmth and were very welcoming and friendly. I got to try on a "new self" with people and learn my way towards a better social awareness.

• Not trying to overstate things, but I do not think I would be the same version of myself today without it. WASC camp taught me that I was a leader and that gave me the confidence to pursue many opportunities that compounded on each other. I was a more anxious teen that was controlled by pleasing others. Camp helped me step out on my own and see who I could be. I am a better wife, mother, friend, coworker, and physical therapist to my patients because of leadership camp.

• It gave me my voice for the first time in my life.

• It challenged me to think outside the box. Provided challenging experiences to grow as a person. Helped build confidence by different situations both personally and in a group setting.

• I think the single biggest thing was that the leadership camp turned my fragile confidence into genuine confidence. Second, it was extremely motivational and energizing. It also helped me identify some bad habits that I had as a later and taught me better techniques.

• It brought me out of my shell and taught me how to be a fully participating member of a group. I learned how to be a leader in a volunteer setting which transferred to a work setting.

• I gained vocabulary and perspective and self-awareness without defensiveness

• I relied on what I learned...to have the strength to stay alive.

• Helped me be more comfortable just being myself, speaking up in groups, also seeing traits and skills I need to work on and develop

• They gave me tools and resources to use.

• I was able to envision a bright future with possibilities I hadn’t thought of before. My personal growth —- I became a better, happier, more confident person. My life is [before WASC] and [after WASC].

• People I met. First airplane ride. First camp away from home. Helped me with public speaking. Negotiation skills. Manage emotions. Hold myself and others accountable. Build trusting relationships, etc.

• It allowed me to understand the person I wanted to be, the impact I wanted to have on others, and it gave me a sense of what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. Those are pivotal learnings for a meaningful life.

• It helped me learn empathy & humility.

• The relationships gained from camp are lifelong. I have facilitated activities for students and also learned about myself in the process.

• I gained confidence, I met friends that I kept through later life, and I learned to bring my own energy into anything I do.

• In a very personal way, it brought me my closest friend who I see weekly and do life with to this day. She is my comfort in many seasons and we have walked through high school, college, early marriage, motherhood, etc. together. Our Christian faith and love for Jesus bonds us deeply and she is the friend that points me to truth continually.

• When my family chose me to be our ambassador I was shocked completely and that really changed my life.

• Too many to list

• There are too many to list. I could write a book on them. One of the things that makes camp so great is that the staff are such great examples. I learned so much from just watching them and how they interact in large groups, small groups, and one-one-one situations. Nightly camp closing sessions were also especially impactful as staff members shared things that were meaningful to them.

• Specifically, any time at camp there was a project or “challenge”/assignment to do with a team, the chance to work with students who didn’t already have preconceived opinions of me really helped me to participate fully without being limited by self consciousness.

• ❤️

• Learning that I wasn’t good at letting other people take the lead, giving others chances to give their best—Thai has been a huge part of what I try to do today as a leader

• Leadership training gave me life skills that I can apply to my personal life and career.

• I consistently reflect on different skills I’ve learned over the years.

• My first WASC camp during boundary breaking- I felt my whole being open up and found connections with new people who were willing to understand my background. I wanted to learn about each new person. Leadership was learned as well, but I had to find myself before I could lead others.

• All... people I met had the greatest impact.

• So many moments - obstacle courses completed as a team, daily closing reflection opportunities, boundary breaking - answering questions individually within your group.

• Daily Bliss.

• Too many to name! Relationships are #1

• My last year at camp we had a “bomb simulation” that did not go as the directors planned (we all took things way too literally and thought the world was actually ending) but was a very impactful experience. I was faced with actually feeling like life as I knew it was ending —I wouldn’t return to high school, I wouldn’t go to college—we would all just try to survive. In our fake bomb shelter I took a big step for myself and prayed out loud for everyone and shared about Jesus. I realized that my faith first and then my family were truly what mattered to me when everything else (I thought) was taken away.

• Indescribable. Laughs, tears, hugs, friendships for life.

• The camaraderie from shared experiences in an open and safe space was invaluable.

• 10 out of 10.

• Inexplicable and major ♡

• It's been 40 years and it's still the most significant learning experience of my life to date. I have friends I still keep in touch with from that time and they have been a constant in my life.

• Being free!!! Of high school constraints

• ❤️

• Pure joy!!!

• Leadership training has provided a lot of joy through learning communication skills and working with people who have a common goal. I’ve learned the value of how to create lasting friendships.

• My heart dances and I cry happy tears thinking about it still. 34 years later! New friends, ideas, challenges. All great!!

• You leave thinking anything is possible.

• Pure, unapologetic, safe, comfortable.

• High on Life. Euphoria.

• Leadership activities have been meaningful and personal. I receive the most joy while working with others toward a common goal.

• I feel like it was a training in energy, teaching us to bring big energy into everything we do.

• Camp makes you feel like you can be yourself 100% yet also accepted and part of the “in group” —no cliques or outcasts. That brings a lot of joy and comfort to a middle/high school kid. And it is just a LOT of crazy fun. Where else do you get 16 year olds to sing silly songs about swimming pools and laugh about it?

• Track and evaluate impact over time

• Make sure roommates did not know each other

• I'd make the program bigger. More people need to experience it.

• Longer! Maybe to be able to add it as credits somewhere would be helpful other than the diploma

• I'd love to see adult camp as a booster shot of learning.

• If only grown-ups could go to camp! Professional conferences are NOT the same, particularly in fields where it’s a small world - there’s no freedom from reputational impacts from interactions that occur at professional conferences, so those experiences can’t easily be made as safe for exploration and discovery.

• Flexibility in how kids learn now

• Make it more accessible to more people—scholarships etc

• If I could make changes it would be that more youth should be involved with leadership trainings. Leadership camp changed my life in so many ways and gave me so many skills that I could never learn in a classroom or from my parents. So many of these skills I still apply today to my work and my personal life. I wish more kids had the opportunity to learn the skills at a young age so they’re prepared for adulthood.

• Maybe consider different learners. Certain activities required everyone reading or writing and posting items up publicly about what you did. Initially shy learners or dyslexic participants may struggle with that.

• I haven't been affiliated with it for a loooong time. I would hope it would be contemporarized (grit, growth mindset, globalization, influence/ethics in leadership, etc.)

• Leadership camp for adults!

• I would like the camps to be longer and more frequent.

• WASC was very special; I wish more people could have experienced it ❤️
I am also a trainer:)

• I made some instant bonds with new friends that made a real difference to my mental health as a teenager.

• Changes my life to have these opportunities as a young person

• The friends that are made are certainly for life!! I know the curriculum has changed but really the human collaboration and interaction were the biggest part for me. After that, I had the mindset that leadership was possible. If it is to be it is up to me. Talk about Social Emotional Learning!!

• I'll just say it again - it is the single thing I point to as the most important experience that shaped who I am as a human. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything.

• Every child / student should have the ability to attend these camps.