Graduating?

Graduating is the process of deciding to be intentional and proactive about your last year of camp, doing some advance planning and contemplating (before camp), meeting and communicating with staff and other graduates about that (during camp), taking on at least a little bit of a formal leadership role at camp, and (this last bit is optional) formally saying goodbye to the camp community on the last night of camp.

Graduation begins in the summer, when qualified campers let us know they want to graduate and then Grace contacts them and, among other things, asks them to start thinking about their final-year intentions. Graduation continues during each session, with meetings (including an informative and welcoming meeting for new campers, led by graduates) and, of course, the final presentations.

(For new campers, here’s a little background: we make some time available during camp -- typically the last night, though this may change -- to honor those campers who have chosen to make NBTSC an ongoing part of their adolescence, and who have found ways to take on more of a leadership role as they’ve gotten older. We give them each a few minutes to speak to the group or to make some other kind of presentation.)

To keep graduation special, and help keep the last-night presentations magical and not too long, we do limit graduation to people who

• have attended NBTSC for at least three years (not sessions, years) including the present year. (Advance notice to campers new in 2011: we are transitioning toward a 4-year requirement for graduates who want to give presentations on the last night. But the overall graduation process will remain open to 3-year attendees.)
• and do not plan to attend NBTSC as a camper in future years.  
• and are at least 18 years old during this year’s camp. (Talk to us if you are younger but you still feel that you have engaged NBTSC as an opportunity to develop leadership skills and there is some special reason that it makes sense for you to give a formal goodbye to the camp community. The only reason that makes sense to us in most cases is when a camper is quite sure they will be attending college or engaged in some other activity—such as a year-long trip around the world—that will prevent them from attending NBTSC during the rest of their camp-age years.)

 

More about graduates' goodbye presentations

Unless you simply wish to stand up for 30 seconds or less and spontaneously express your affection, farewell, gratitude, etc. to the group, starting in 2011 you'll need to test-drive your speech/presentation with a staff person. If you've made a thoughtful effort with your preparations then don't worry, we're unlikely to exclude you from the lineup -- but we may have suggestions and requests for how you can make your presentation more contactful and engaging.

If you will attend more than one session of camp during your graduating year, please choose just one session for your formal goodbye. We are willing to make an exception if you have attended more than one session for 3 or more years. (If you have participated in both Oregon and Vermont sessions for 3 years, for example, you are welcome to speak in both locations.) If you meet our requirements for speaking at more than one session, however, it’s important that you put equal energy into both presentations. It’s no fun to listen to a speech that begins, “Since this isn’t actually my last session of camp, I don’t really feel like I have anything important to say tonight…." or “Well, um, I already spoke at last session so I’m not sure what to say tonight…”

If you want to graduate, you must let us know by July 1 (via your online database account). Grace will be in touch during the summer.  

 

 

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