Providing Experiences for Children with Diabetes

Presenter: Jake Keller, Biological Sciences, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum, I worked at Camp Possibilities in Darlington, MD. Camp Possibilities is a week-long sleep-away camp for children with diabetes that provides medical supplies, trained medical staff, and unique experiences so that children who are normally unable to go to sleep-away camps due to their unique condition can have fun and connect with a wide network of individuals with the same condition. I worked as a counselor that was responsible for a cabin of boys, and was responsible for caring for and mentoring them, as well as ensuring that they all had a great time. At camp, I experienced firsthand how children’s attitudes, especially first-timers, changed throughout the week as the camp experience brought joy to their faces. It was an extremely fulfilling experience. I am a type 1 diabetic myself and went to the camp as a camper for several years, so to bring happiness to my campers as my counselors did to me several years ago was rewarding and a remainder of why programs like Camp Possibilities are so important to my community some of the education I carry, allows me to feel like I was able to give them an opportunity for better health.