Name: Monica Helm
Position in Camp Kesem: Co-Chair
Camp counselor name: Sparkle
Hometown: San Carlos
Year at Davis: Senior
Major/minor: Genetics/Psychology
What inspired you to get involved with Camp Kesem?
My mom had cancer when I was in high school and it was an extremely challenging experience for me as a teenager. When I found out about Camp Kesem through a fellow Pi Phi my freshmen year I immediately knew this was an organization I needed to be apart of. I love children and camp so it was an obvious choice and thankfully I was selected to be a counselor Winter 2008. The camp was everything I expected and more and each year it gets bigger and better.
How has your experience affected you?
Camp Kesem has showed me how wonderful, unique, and strong people, especially children are. I am inspired by every child I have met at camp. Additionally, I am blown away each year to see how many college students are willing to give up so much of their time to help children and families in need.
Camp Kesem has also strengthened and improved my leadership skills. Each year I have taken on a new position in camp and I learn more about time management, working with others, leading others, budgeting, fundraising and much more. The life lessons I have learned in the past 4 years through Camp Kesem are invaluable to me and I am significantly more prepared to enter the real world next year because of my work with the organization.
What has been the most memorable experience you have had in Kesem? Explain.
It is very hard for me to choose my most memorable experience in Camp Kesem but I would say one of my most memorable experiences in camp was this past summer. For the summer 2010 Camp Kesem Davis facilitated a teen camp for the first time. I spent the year organizing and running the preparations for the teen camp so when the week of camp actually came I was extremely excited but also very nervous. Camp usually only included children 6-13 years of age and now we had campers 6-17 years old. As the week progressed I watched the teenage boy campers and teenage girl campers become close friends. The last night of camp we have a final cabin chat and the teen unit counselors decided to have the boys and girls do the cabin chat together. We started the night with fun games and then transitioned to a more serious activity. In this time I watched teenage boys a girls (who are usually very interested in impressing each other) break down, cry, open up, talk, hug, support each other for two hours. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, for teenagers to be comfortable enough with themselves and each other to be there for one another was absolutely inspiring.
Are you involved in other organizations on campus?
Yes. Pi Beta Phi Fraternity and The House Peer Counseling. I also work at the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department as a peer advisor and I work in a plant biology/genetics lab on campus.
Do you plan on continuing to be involved in an organization such as Camp Kesem post-grad? If so, what would you like to continue doing?
Unfortunately you can only be a counselor for camp if you are an undergrad at a university that has the organization on the campus. However there are opportunities to work for the national organization and/or to be a camp advisor for other camps in the US and I am definitely considering applying to be a camp advisor for the next few summers.
Are there any upcoming events or other ways students at UC Davis can get involved in the club?
Yes, we have weekly meetings every Sunday at 8pm. Our big fundraiser every year is a live and silent auction called “Make the Magic” which is on February 26th. To join our listserv and get email updates on upcoming events please email me mshelm6@gmail.com and to learn more about Camp Kesem Davis go to campkesemdavis.org.