When people think about leaders they so often turn to politics, athletes, movie actors, famous people etc. However, when I think of leaders, I think of people in my life who have paved the way for my success but who have also made a difference. One place that always comes to mind is the Hole in the Wall Camp in Ashford Connecticut. This camp is a camp that Paul Newman created. It is a camp for kids with serious and life-threatening illnesses. Paul Newman, in many ways is a leader, but it’s not him that comes to mind when I think about leadership and this camp.
It’s hard to explain how a camp for children with serious illness can be the happiest place on earth. The counselors at the camp are mostly college students, with different majors, from all parts of the world. Most have no experience with special populations at all. Every session volunteers join from all around the world, with different backgrounds, giving two weeks of their vacation time to the campers. Most of the counselors come armed with a love of kids, a love of camp, a natural terror of disease, and a couple of books about coping with grief bought in a panic the previous week. Those books are never very useful at camp and most counselors wish to return them before the end of orientation.
Most people think that the children benefit the most from camp; however, it is really everyone that benefits. The counselors start as the leaders for the campers by showing them what it is like to run activities, answer their questions, and help the campers have the best time of their lives. However, the campers are also the leaders. The campers teach the staff what it’s like to live a life in the hospital and to just want to be a kid. The campers teach the staff what it’s like to live everyday to the fullest. This experience at camp is life changing for everyone.
While reading about the trait approach I felt that that best applied to my experience at camp as a counselor. The most important aspect of the trait approach that applies to the camp experience is the emotional intelligence. Many people do not look to children to be leaders, but this camp experiences proves that they can be leaders. They can be leaders amongst their peers but also even leaders for adults. The emotional intelligence has to do with “our emotions and thinking and the interplay between the two” (Northouse, 2016). Also, it is the ability to “understand and reason with emotions, and to effectively manage emotions within oneself and in relationships with others” (Mayer, Salovery, & Caruso, 2000). The children at the Hole in the Wall Camp have the amazing ability to lead through the trait approach. They are able to take their life lessons and apply it to situations they are put in at camp that challenge them. They are also able to teach their peers that may be going through the same experiences how to overcome. I really wish that everyone could experience even one week at this camp. It an amazing opportunity to see children be incredible leaders among their peers and among the adults staff and volunteers.
References:
Mayer, J.D., Salovery, P., & Caruso, D.R. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R.J. Sternbers (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (pp. 396-420). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles:
Sage Publications.