CONWAY, Ark. (January 20, 2016) – Ten Hendrix College students spent part of their winter break volunteering at
Camp C.A.M.P., a camp in Center Point, Texas, which serves children and adults with special needs.
The trip is one of four student mission trips sponsored this year by the
Hendrix Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling.
The
Hendrix student Camp C.A.M.P. participants included:
- Jessica Amos ’16
- Marlee Bird ’19
- Parker Gitz ’17
- Joyce Lauritzen ’16
- Evan Mitchell ’16
- Alexis Taylor ’17
- Mari Thomeczek ’18
- Emily Waller ’19
- Susan Warren ’16
- Delaney Wells ’18
“Hendrix alumnus Brandon Briery ’95 has invited me to bring a group to the camp for several years,” said Rev. Wayne Clark ’84, Associate Vice President of Development and Dean of the Chapel, who co-led the trip with Hanna French ’15, Program Assistant for the Miller Center.
Briery is the Executive Camping Director and Alex Sego ’10 also works at the camp.
“Our week at the beginning of the week included mulching flower beds, cutting trees and clearing land for a new horse pasture, and building a large shed for a commercial tractor,” said Clark. “At the end of the week, we served as counselors for a Respite camp. The camp has a one-to-one ration, so each student was matched
with a specific counselor.”
“The week was great,” said Warren. “It was challenging in every way – physically, mentally and emotionally. However, it was also very rewarding.”
“C.A.M.P. provided an opportunity for me to see
the world through a different lens,” said Amos. “I am so much more grateful for
the life I live and even more inspired to understand the lives of others.”
“During training we were told that a camper once said
that the best counselor would be ‘a big ear with arms’ and so that’s what we
tried to be,” said Bird.
“You have your friends at Hendrix – the people
you’re comfortable with, the people you’ve spent time developing relationships
with – but then somehow in a week, you meet a whole group of new people that
you grow closer to and open up to,” said Wells. “Maybe it’s the 24/7
togetherness, the good food, or the fact that you have no other choices for
companions, but by the end of the week, you’ve become a family. And if that
family doesn’t last past the week, at least you’ll have a few new faces to wave
to when you them around campus.”
“People with disabilities may be some of the most deserving, the most open, the most loving, and the most FUN people I’ve ever had the privilege of befriending,” said Lauritzen.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.