At Wawenock, there is an implicit sister component to Effort and Initiative, and that is Persistence and Resilience. These two components work in tandem to elevate campers’ engagement, allowing them to experience successes throughout their summers. At our 2020 Celebration ceremony, each girl was called to stand in front of her friends and counselors, and she was recognized for her myriad accomplishments during the camp season, which, though abbreviated, provided ample opportunity for growth. No success was too small to mention; no feat too trivial to acknowledge. The satisfaction and pride of each camper was magnified a hundredfold by the support and cheer and congratulations of her Wawenock family. It was a sight to behold!
Campers understand persistence and resilience differently. When asked to reflect on these components, Emma said, “Persistence and resilience mean to have a strong and powerful determination to meet a certain goal, no matter how much it challenges you or provides an enormously difficult obstacle to overcome. You don’t let your failures define you; they are the motivation that keeps you going. Camp has taught me so much about the value of persistence because in order to progress in your chosen activities and achieve new awards, you must constantly give your all into what you are doing and push yourself to the best of your abilities. I constantly wanted to see myself progress throughout the summer, and I can take this beyond camp and continue to develop my persistence. If you focus on the “yet factor,” for instance, and say to yourself, “I can’t do this…yet!” surely you will see improvement in yourself and therefore feel rewarded.” Emma received her 14th and 15th awards in Archery, and then proceeded to achieve her 1st through 9th advanced awards, receiving the Arch Deluxe reward for her accomplishments. She also overcame her fear of cantering in riding and swam all the way from the pier to the Rocks without stopping.
Corinne succeeded in achieving her Bar 4 in Riflery, scoring five times in one day by pushing herself to work hard through Hobby Hour. She defines persistence and resilience as “being able to adapt to and overcome challenges so you can eventually meet your goals.” And in order to achieve her 6th and 7th awards in Archery, Jessie “did not just focus on what I was trying to achieve,” but also on “having fun with faith that the thing I am trying to get might just happen.”
The Wawenock program, with its provision for achievements and awards, encourages girls to stretch towards their fullest potential by recognizing incremental successes throughout the summer. Small moments of triumph are not dismissed, but are rather seen as true victories that advance each girl towards a goal that she determines with the support of her instructors. If Initiative is a catalyst, persistence and resilience are what drive campers forward, and the culminating effect of their efforts is not the awards they receive at Celebration, but the confidence they gain in themselves and their agency. They leave camp having cultivated a growth mindset that allows them to take on challenges with verve and this is their greatest success of all.