[HMDS] Final Day of Camp GK
Today was the last day of Camp GK, and all the staff members involved in the program gave a final farewell speech to the campers before the certificate ceremony. We're going to miss all the campers very dearly!
Lori GKid: "I was thinking back on what my favorite moment was of camp, and one stands out mainly because it represents to me, what camp has ben all about. SO here's my fave moment:
There was mad chaos on the first Friday of camp. When we went on break, and you all broke into your groups to finish your week 1 build project, I was seriously worried. Were you going to finish on time? Did you take the project seriously? What were you going to come up with?
When I was TPed over to the first group, as they were getting ready to present, I was totally blown away. I didn't doubt that you could come up with *something* for this project, but I was utterly amazed at what each group ended up with.
When I saw the builds you had done, how you had chosen to embody the characters of your build, and in the one instance, go as far as staging a conflict to be able to capture the essence of what you wanted to communicate... I was so impressed. You all had gone over and above anything I had thought of for that project. You came up with solutions to the challenge, that hadn't even occured to me.
The creativity you all demonstrated that day (along with the passion, dedication, and intelligence you had been demonstrating all week) made me feel several things: I felt lucky to be a part of this totally unique experience; I felt proud that you all were so willing and able to take on the challenges we were throwing at you. And I was absolutely psyched for Week 2, because I couldn't wait to see what you guys would come up with next.
And throughout this whole program - I've never been disappointed. Time and time again, you all REPRESENT. The first week project exemplified what you guys put into this program during the whole 4 week duration. For that, I am very grateful to each and every one of you for what you contributed to this Camp GK experience.
I also want to give a shoutout to the Camp GK Staff -- I feel proud and lucky to be a part of the team that works tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happen. Mercury, you especially demonstrated a remarkable level of commitment and contributed tremendously to the smooth running of our daily activities. We were lucky to have you on board.
I'd also like to thank all the teens, and Brooke in particular, who contributed their skills and assistance as we worked on camp. Ryan D as well. And who could forget our awesome reporters Tecno Tiger and Lucky Figtree --- thanks to you guys for capturing your experience and posting it online to share with the world. I encourage the rest of you to contribute to the blog as well --- comment on the posts to make sure your voice is a part of this truly unique and groundbreaking thing we've been a part of I could go on and on about how incredible this experience has been for me, but to spare you all, I shall pass the mic on to another member of the staff. Woot! and walk in peace always"
Zach GKid: "Its been an incredible experience for me working with you. You guys have blown me away over and over again. I found you all very smart and funny and creative and comitted and you brought a lot of energy and passion to what you did.
I learned a lot from you about how to inhabit and function in the SL world. And I got a clearer idea about what people are talking about when they say teens are so tech and media savvy and multi-task naturally with the technology as part of the way you communicate with friends and with the world. You guys really rock!!
So thanks for sharing this world with me this summer. I hope you got as much out of it as I did. From your feedback maybe its mutual. I'm going to miss you guys. what I wanted to say was a special thanks to Merc for supporting the workshops and for your inspiration"
Mercury Metropolitan: "This experience has been like no other for me in Second Life. I've never had the chance to work with such an awesome group of people in such an organized manner within a virtual space. This is the Teen Grid, and you guys really demonstrated the maturity and responsibility that a large portion of the Teen Grid is lacking.
You guys are the creme de la creme of the TG and I am so happy that we had the opportunity to choose such a wonderful group of campers to work with. Throughout this whole experience, I feel I've grown as a person and gotten to know you all better than I did before camp.
So many things go on behind the scenes that you guys never hear about, and the effort that Lori, Rafi, and Zach put into their work is just incredible. Working with them directly has been one of the biggest highlights of this experience, and I take with me so many positive qualities that they've demonstrated.
One of the things that stands out vividly in in my mind about this camp was the level of teamwork put forth in almost every group activity. I am so proud of each an every one of you to step up to the plate and make things happen! I'd like to thank each an every one of you for making my experience as an Intern with Global Kids one of the most exciting and inspiring experiences I've ever had! Thank you all :)"
Rafi Gkid: "If I was to pick One moment, what could it be.... I think actually I'm going to break the rules/instructions, and say that I don't have ONE moment. Just a lot of little ones. Mostly, it was all about hearing you all, both in the activites and discussions we've had, as well as outside of the formal 'camp', even if it was just an IM during camp that was unrelated. Lots of little points where I got to see a little more of who each of you are, 'behind the avatar', as they say....
From our side, I think I can speak for the staff when I say that we put our all (all our time, energy, mental space, creativity, etc...)into making this experience, this camp, a positive one for you all, and when we were tired, it was a good day at camp, an activity that went well, one of you campers saying something insightful, that made us keep going, keep making sure that this was a success.
Anyhow, in the interest of not getting too sappy, I'll end with saying that you've all impressed me, and this all includes all the staff - Lori, Zach, Merc, lol, even me! It's no easy thing to take part in something like this, and I think that everyone did great. You're a super group to work with, I can only hope that we have teens and staff as dedicated as everyone here has been in the future of Global Kids' work in SL. I'm seriously going to miss coming everyday at 10 SLT... miss just hanging out... miss your crazy antics...
