Camp seeks to place local youth on right path

Like most teenagers, Kaeleigh Aucoin and Amanda Rodriguez didn’t want to go to summer camp.

Honestly, what kid does?

The organization, the structure, the rules, it’s everything a kid longs to get away from during their break amidst the grind of a nine-month school year.

The girls finally gave in and attended.

They’ve been back every year since, 11 years running.

That’s because this isn’t just any summer camp, it’s the 22nd Annual Teen Spirit Leadership Conference, which was held again this week at the Lumen Christi Retreat Center in Schriever.

“It kind of gets into your skin,” Aucoin said. “We can’t imagine our lives without it now, really.”

Aucoin and Rodriguez’s story can be mirrored everywhere in the fabric of the camp, which hosted close to 60 students and approximately 30 counselors this year.

The girls started as campers at an early age, attempting to get a head’s up in a mentoring program offered at their schools.

When their time as students came to an end, they became what is called a TA, which means a camp counselor.

Now, they are Black Shirts, which is a title given to the senior staff members of the camp.

“We’ve been through all of the stages,” Rodriguez said with a smile.

“There’s no more room to advance now,” Aucoin added. “We’re done moving up.”

A similar pattern can be seen throughout all of those associated with the camp, both young and old.

“They come here the first time and they are a little bit hesitant,” camp official and organizer Christina Theriot said. “But they get here and they never want to leave.”

The focus of the camp is simple: steer teenagers clear of the obstacles that stand in the way of success.

Those lessons are built into every moment of the three and a half day summer camp, as speakers are booked to stress the importance of steering clear from alcohol, drug abuse and violence.

“We’re asking people to raise their hands if they’ve been offered drugs in their lives, not even necessarily if they’ve taken them, but just have been offered them,” Theriot said. “And the numbers of kids who are raising their hands are pretty high. This is just a great thing for these kids to have to serve as an outlet to show them that you don’t have to give into those negative things out there.”

Friendship and trust building exercises are also commonplace throughout the week, such as an exercise where a student has to fall backward into the arms of other students waiting to catch them before they fall.

“It builds trust,” Theriot explained. “You have to trust that the person waiting for you won’t let you fall.”

Initially that trust isn’t there.

As the week goes on, you’ve made friends you’ll have the remainder of your life.

“We form such a bond,” Aucoin said. “You make so many new friends. Someone who may not be one to socialize much will open up and will socialize here.”

“It’s really amazing to watch,” Rodriguez added. “On Monday, kids are coming in and are really reserved and they’re really not sure what they’re going to do here. They’re not really sure if anyone’s going to talk to them and everything like that. …By Tuesday or Wednesday, it’s like we’ve known each other forever. Everyone is just so trusting and accepting of each other. It’s amazing.”

Once the students have the seeds of success planted into them, the hope is that they will take those lessons they learned back into their homes and high schools and try and make a difference there.

The curriculum has also become more modern in recent years, including such topics as using the Internet as a learning tool and also the proper ways to protect yourself while using cellular phones to avoid conflicts and traps like sexting and other phone-related hazards.

Those lessons go along with this year’s theme, “Endless Possibilities,” which Theriot explained was designed to get the campers to understand that everyone has the ability to do big things with his/her lives.

“No matter what someone tells you, don’t let that plant itself in you if it’s negative. That’s our message,” Theriot said. “You know, 21 years ago, I was told that I didn’t have what it takes to be a speaker and a minister to young people. If I would have let that seed plant, I wouldn’t be here today. So we’re teaching them that even if somebody tells you something, it’s not reality. Why put those negative things in our lives?”

To make this year’s event a success, or even a possibility, community support is always needed. Sponsoring the camp this year was the Terrebonne Red Ribbon Committee, as well as the Terrebonne Parish School Board, Sheriff’s Office and the Bayou Cane Volunteer Fire Protection District.

“So many things are given in donations,” Theriot said. “For example, all of our meals for the week are donated. The officers we have here from the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, all of their time is donated. We’re not being charged for that. … There’s so much that has been given by the community from one company to another. It’s amazing to see the support we have from the people around us.”

But even with that help, funding ran thin because of statewide budget cuts.

The Houma Elk’s Lodge No. 1193, and specifically member Richard Trahan, rose to the occasion and fixed that, securing a $9,000 grant from the Elk’s National Foundation.

“Without that, we may not have made it this year,” Trahan said. “That would have been a shame.”

A shame indeed, because as lifers like Aucoin and Rodriguez admit, they will never forget the lessons they’ve learned and the friends they’ve made every summer.

For others like Theriot who have seen the locals blossom from children to women, it’s even better.

“To see them now in their 20s and this is still important to them, that’s a great feeling,” Theriot said with a smile. “For them to see the difference it made in their lives, it’s incredible. … It’s something people this age deserve to have. This is a special camp and a special place.”

Teen Spirit Leadership Conference campers (from left) Hannah Carlos, Craig Brunet, Juan Izaguirre and Kaitlyn Gomez take part in a game of Human Knot. CASEY GISCLAIR