Blessed are the Curious, for They Shall Have Adventures

Written by Anne 'Nala' Geenen

Over the past eleven years, I have spent approximately 5,000 hours at Camp Tekakwitha. 5,000 hours laughing, loving, and learning. 5,000 hours with God, friends, and family. 5,000 hours at the place that means the most to me in the world. 

I like to think there is an eleventh Beatitude: blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures. Every waking moment at camp is an adventure. As a camper, the counselors would never tell me what we were doing next (despite me asking every few minutes) so there were surprises around every corner. I always tried everything: archery, boating, swimming, field games, arts and crafts, and gaga ball. Days passed in the blink of an eye and I never wanted to leave when my parents picked me up on Fridays. When I turned 15, I graduated to LeaderQuest. This adventure was crazy awesome and exciting. We were given more freedom like a later bedtime and offsite trips, but with more freedom came more responsibility. We were put in charge of some activities for the younger kids. I had always considered becoming a counselor, but my two years in the LQ program solidified the idea for me. At 17, I became a junior counselor. I remember the day I checked in and got to pick my camp name. I had spent years debating, but I finally settled on Nala. Yes, from the Lion King. As a JC, I spent two weeks at camp helping the full-time counselors. The following spring, I applied and got accepted to be a counselor for Summer 2016. The summers of ’16 and ’17 have been the greatest adventures of my life. At camp, I am free to explore who I am, deepen my relationship with God, and become my true self. Working with kids has been incredibly rewarding. There are good days and bad days, obviously, but when I look back at my time spent at camp, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

I want to talk about names for a minute. Both my camp name and my confirmation name have great significance. In the Catholic church, when a follower of Jesus receives a new mission from God, he or she receives a new name. Like Saul becoming Paul, I have done this twice. When I got confirmed, I selected Saint Kateri Tekakwitha as my saint. In my mind, there was no other choice. Saint Kateri is the patron saint of children, ecology, and Camp Tekakwitha – three things I feel strongly about. When someone gets confirmed, they are sent out into the world to help spread the word of God. This was the mission for which I received the name of Kateri Tekakwitha. Then, when I was hired at Camp Tekakwitha, I received a new mission: to help my campers grow in their faith, realize their abilities and become more confident in themselves. For this mission, I received my camp name: Nala. Now, my full name is Anne Kathryn Nala Kateri Tekakwitha Geenen. And no, I don’t sign all six names when I fill out forms or credit card receipts. 

My time at Camp Tekakwitha has been the single most influential thing in my life. I made lifelong friends, learned real-world skills, and had boatloads of fun. Camp Tek will always hold a special place in my heart and I thank God every day for it.