Simon the Squirrel has been on the grounds at Stanford University for the past 3 summers and once again got to experience the laughter and tears from Toyon Hall. We sat down with him by the fountain and asked him about his 2011 experience. 

1. Simon, tell us something we do not know about you?

I have 32 offspring, 227 grand-squirrels, and 559 great-grand-squirrels. Reunions send me into a tail-spin.

2. What was your funniest moment this summer at Stanford?

This might be acorny moment, but once I accidently bit into a clown’s foot during mystery words and he tasted funny.

3. Who was the most interesting staff member you came across and why?

They were all very interesting. Can we paws and come back?

4. Did anything about the program drive you ‘nuts’?

Only when I see people barking up the wrong tree during trust falls. I mean, what is a spotter anyway?

5. On outdoor adventure day, did anything unusual occur since we were so close to you?

I always make a lot of friends on outdoor adventure day. Everyone climbs up in my trees and acts like a nut.

6. How will you apply academics since you can not read or write?

No need to be cheeky. Before SuperCamp I was barely squeaking by.

7. Team time – would show us your favorite dance move?

I got this one from Saturday Nut Fever.

8. What advice can you give to those who miss SuperCamp during winter?

Branch out. Get down to your roots and try something you’ve always wanted to. Or travel back to Stanford and feed my family. Since this interview started we have 13 more.

9. Anything else you would like to share? We will snap for you!

Nuttin else. That’s enough fur today.

“I learned a lot about positivity and how you are the creator of who you are,” the 20-year-old Tampa resident says. “It helped a lot with memorizing tools. The keys – this is it, staying in the moment, the organization maps I would do – help with organizing my day-to-day time.”

Melissa says the 8 Keys give her tools for living with integrity, purpose and perseverance, while SuperCamp taught her new study skills and gave her supportive friendships.

“When I went to Colorado I did not know I was going back with some people I had been going with every year in North Carolina,” she says. “I formed really good friendships and kept seeing them at Leadership Forum in Colorado.”

The 8 Keys and how they have helped Melissa:

INTEGRITY – Match behavior with values

Demonstrate your positive personal values in all you do and say. Be sincere and real.
Melissa says she’s learned to be true to herself, so she doesn’t say one thing and do another. “It helps me in my friendships to not have a mask and be real. I feel better about myself, too.”

FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS – Learn from your mistakes

View failures as feedback that provides the information you need to learn, grow, and succeed.
Melissa started her freshman year of college only to find the particular college was not right for her. Failure from Success means “I do not look at it as a failure but (as) how can I make my future brighter…No matter how difficult they (mistakes) are, it makes you a stronger and brighter person when you turn the situation around into a learning experience.”

SPEAK WITH GOOD PURPOSE – Speak honestly and kindly

Think before you speak. Make sure your intention is positive and your words are sincere.
Melissa says: “I use that key every day because I believe if you treat others the way you want to be treated and think before you speak…people realize you have more respect for them.”

THIS IS IT! – Make the most of every moment

Focus your attention on the present moment. Keep a positive attitude.
Melissa says this key has helped her overcome struggles and connect with others to help them. Learning at SuperCamp to make the most of each moment “was definitely a life-changing experience. It was a positive week and it made me feel good about myself.”

COMMITMENT – Make your dreams happen

Take positive action. Follow your vision without wavering.
Melissa has not yet determined what her dream career is, but she wants to work with children, particularly those who were abused, to find loving adoptive homes. “I was adopted as a baby. 3 weeks old. I knew a lot of friends who came from abusive families and they found wonderful families,” she says. “I want to help kids who are in abusive families where they can find good families who care for and support them.”

OWNERSHIP – Take responsibility for actions

Be responsible for your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. “Own” the choices you make and the results that follow.
Melissa says this key helps her understand that if she says or does something wrong she should apologize and take responsibility. “It’s knowing that you can’t just blame everybody around you,” she says.

FLEXIBILITY – Be willing to do things differently

Recognize what’s not working and be willing to change what you’re doing to achieve your goal.
For Melissa this key applies at this moment in her life as she decides what she wants to do next. “I am trying to figure out where I am going to go and what I am going to do and rearrange my future goals and dreams to make them happen,” she says.

BALANCE – Live your best life

Be mindful of self and others while focusing on what’s meaningful and important in your life. Inner happiness and fulfillment come when your mind, body, and emotions are nurtured by the choices you make.
“Every day is a balance – you have to balance what you want to do and your time from when you wake up until you go to bed,” Melissa says. “Finding a balance within yourself and people around you to support you…people that believe in you. And if you believe in yourself you can overcome anything.”

Go Melissa!!!

Rachel Winzeler, a Facilitator at SuperCamp Hong Kong this year, wrote about the first time she witnessed what it meant to be a part of SuperCamp:

Day 15: Supercamp

I was referred to be a facilitator. One day before the deadline, I received an invitation for tryouts. I e-mailed back a polite “thank you, but no thanks.”

As soon as the e-mail was sent, I thought again. And told them to forget the previous e-mail. Tryouts were in Chicago, during the worst blizzard all year. Sliding off the road twice, I pulled the car out of the snow bank with one hand on the gas pedal, and two frozen feet hanging out the door.

The interview, from 8am-5pm, was intense. My 3 minute bio flopped. It was like a day at camp, and I was in another world. These were professional people: 35 twentysomethings from all over the US came. These were good, successful people…the kind of people I wanted to work with. I came to the interview just to give it a shot. I left, really wanting to be hired. Only ten were chosen.

…

Supercamp made me step up. Work hard, play hard. The first night of training they had us stand and tell why we came. I said because there are kids that only I will reach—and I want to make it count. I want to be the most effective possible, with whatever tools I have. I was also there for me—because when I am the best for me, I am the best for you.

I nailed it. There were moments where everything clicked and I walked away from a piece knowing I had done an amazing job—couldn’t have done better. I ran with the big dogs.Supercamp has harnessed efficient ways to use and connect learning strategies in ways that are engaging and memorable. Feedback was constantly given:  we would present short pieces, and then immediately be coached and given chances to step it up to the next level.

One intense piece is called barrier breaking: the kids write a goal on a thick wood board, and then what is a barrier to obtaining that goal on the other side. They put the board on two cement blocks and break it with their hand—through the barrier to the goal. It is a deeply emotional and empowering time as the whole team gathers around, jumping and shouting “yes, yes, yes!”

Supercamp opens your eyes to see how things CAN be. You are challenged, given the tools, and then pushed out. You are supported and not forced, but looked in the eyes and told what you both know:  “You will regret it if you don’t go for it.” Supercamp celebrates your efforts and successes, but more than that, it celebrates the real you, and who you are.

From this place, I can face my questions openly: “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Can I do this?” They surround me with the most powerful word in the English language, “Yes.” With the vision of what I want fresh in my face, I make a list of progress yet to be made. I go to bed tired, muscles sore–but tomorrow I will wake up to greatness, standing inside and outside of my door.

Another amazing testimonial from a new SuperCamper! We love hearing these types of stories and encourage you to contact us if you want to share about your experiences. Send an email to stories@supercamp.com detailing your SuperCamp experience and you just may see it show up on the blog!

“Your outstanding presentation, enthusiasm, selfless commitment, and sheer love permeated into our hearts, and showed students that there are persons that dedicate their time, love and efforts into making the lives of children more fulfilling,” School Administrator Mr. Lockett said.

As students suffer from a cultural Excellence Deficit and teachers struggle with lack of programs due to education budget cuts, the aim of the Excellence Effect Movement is to reverse this trend by offering a meaningful character education curriculum at no cost to families and students with a goal of reaching 50 million kids by 2015.

“The Excellence Effect is a program that guides young people toward a positive future full of confidence, motivation, creativity, teamwork, leadership and valuable life principles,” said Bobbi DePorter, President of the non-profit that created the Excellence Effect Movement, Learning Forum International.

At both school assemblies, members of the Transformational Leadership Council, an elite group of many of the world’s greatest transformational leaders, led talks on the 8 Keys of Excellence and interacted in small groups with the students.

The no-cost school program provides K-12 teachers with a full year of character education lesson plans, online resources, training and support.

Bobbi DePorter is the founder and president of Learning Forum International. Bobbi developed the 8 Keys of Excellence 30 years ago as an education tool for students attending her SuperCamp summer enrichment programs. She is the author of The 8 Keys of Excellence – Principles to Live By and has written over a dozen books on teaching and learning, which have been translated into seven languages. Ms. DePorter is also the founder and president of Quantum Learning Network, which offers training to youth, educators and businesses throughout the U.S. and in over 12 other countries. She attended the University of Washington and University of Southern California Graduate School of Business CME program.

“Our kids are at risk – it’s our responsibility to do something” she said.

Remember your first impressions of camp? Being greeted by the most delightful staff member you’ve ever met? They were wearing one of those ridiculously stylish blue collared shirts you just had to have. We liked them so much too that over the course of the summer those shirts were worn over 15,000 days total. Watch out GQ.

Then you hopped in line and were given the sweetest lanyard your eyes have ever beheld. It’s gentle fold and brilliant colors almost brought you to tears. You promised yourself you would never take it off – and because you didn’t, those lanyards were worn over 22,000 combined days this summer.

Once you were checked in and your parents had gone you knew it was time to party. You ran outside with pure glee enveloping your face, jumped into the first hackey sack circle you could find and began dropping your honed skills and knowledge in all our faces. Because of your commitment to making it a great summer, we volleyed almost 600 hackey sacks in just a few short weeks. Calculate that amount of kicks…and the number of horrified groans you made when that precious ball of woven wonder hit the unsanctioned ground.

Then the most glorious thing happened. You heard a song that made your jaw drop. Your body had no choice but to begin clapping and grooving with the rhythm. Feet stomped, arms pumped and you vaulted up onto a chair that filled a magnificent Main Room. Giving it all you had, maybe even biting that lower lip, you clapped it in and dropped exhilarated into what can only be known as “Stock in Costco” – a folding chair. Not too soft, and maybe not quite “just right,” that chair was your friend for days. Thank you dear friends, for holding us up, supporting us whenever we needed you and at times even making us stand a little taller  – all of us together sat in over 10,000 of your kind. Good luck with your family tree.

We embraced and lived through 2,800 playbooks that contained just as many POW-OOOOOO-CHA’s. 12,500 pens later we’ve mastered Mind Maps and Fast Writing. Helping us along the way were 2,200 so deliciously-scented-you-just-might-eat-one Mr. Sketch markers. I call grape.

How can we forget our WHOA claps? Our hands were an array of colors and levels of tingly as we shared the clap with each other over 2,600 times. Of course there were the Power Whooshes. 1-2-3 (clap, clap, clap) Whoooooooooooooosh. Imagine that x 2,600 – because it already happened.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better you were presented with a terrific teal blend of cotton. At this moment you had a pinnacle of understanding – this truly is the fabric of your life. You caressed its texture with awe and wonder. You began visualizing all the feats you could accomplish wearing this amazing gift. Scaling a ladder and hovering 30 feet in the air wearing nothing but a harness and a ¾” thick rope was simple. Morning came and you could barely contain yourself. You threw it on and felt its power course through you. That summer, only 2,300 of these splendid babies were made, and you had one. With almost 7 billion people in the world, that’s impressive. Wrap that up with just as many brilliant made postcards written and mailed home. Whew!

Academics, team times, and some remarkable singing and dancing led us into the home stretch. Over already? You couldn’t believe it. But wait. What’s this? Another gift – something to remind you of the changes you’ve made and will continue as you head home. You may only be one voice, but a voice that will be heard. We shouted it all out together, “I Make A Difference!”. This medal reminded us that for the past few days we’ve focused on the Me – combined with the Indian word of “Dal” (meaning: a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet) we realized that the word MEDAL really means that sometimes we need to focus on bettering ourselves to be part of a healthy balance.

It’s a good thing we ordered 2,400.

(All statistics used in this mind-blowing blog post are true and accurate).

Watch this video and then ask yourself, what is it that you like in your life?:

Thanksgiving comes around and I find myself still sitting at the kids table with a paper plate and spork. I sigh deeply, look at my 30 year old sister and laugh because she is sitting next to me.

At SuperCamp I listed a series of “I am” statements including “I am a teacher, I am a friend, I am hilarious” in the first step to writing realistic, specific and measurable goals for myself. I took time to reflect on who I am and the goals I set. Admittedly, I would have to look back at my playbook to find specifically (how ironic) which goals I talked about. What happened to the goals you set at camp? How far along are you to accomplishing those goals?

In high school, I focused on the obstacles I faced to get to college including parents, teachers and the multitude of never ending exams.

College: same thing. I was focused on getting past these “obstacles” so I could enjoy life in the job I worked so hard for.

With this perspective, I was trudging through life. I did not realize until now that in high school and college I was growing, learning and developing those “I am” statements. Reality check.

Every Thanksgiving, I look in the mirror and reflect on what I am thankful for. Just like the little girl, I love my house, I love my mom and why not?–even my haircut. Simple things shift my focus from looking at the obstacles to admiring the opportunities.

In the end, I replace my “attitude” with “gratitude.”  I am grateful for all the work my mom put into making my lunches, taking me to school, and making sure I got what I needed all before she headed to the factory to work a 10-hour shift. I am grateful for the teachers who were constantly reminding me what assignments I was missing so they could catch up on a huge pile of papers to grade while they mulled over their leftover choices.

Reflect on your camp. Reflect on life. What are your goals? Who are you grateful for?

What are you saying to yourself in the mirror?

Sweet haircut, by the way.

Adam Sandler in the movie "Billy Madison"

This guest post was written by Mr. Doug Couch, sports enthusiast and experienced SuperCamp staff member.

“O’Doyle rules!”

While glorified as entertaining on the silver screen in movies such as Billy Madison, bullying is an act that is all too serious and real in today’s schools. This seemingly inescapable byproduct of adolescence is an issue that three quarters of all students say they have experienced first-hand. Verbally, physically, and psychologically, bullying can take on many forms – name calling, threats, teasing, rejection, and even physical violence.

The lasting effects of bullying can be as widespread as the acts themselves. It can make students afraid of school and social interaction, which can have lasting effects on their psyche through adulthood. For many students, it is difficult to focus on the assignments at hand when they are worried about the bully that stands between them and their locker. As technology has progressed, so has the art of bullying and it’s effects. As a result, bullying can make school a fearful place that can lead to greater stress and school violence, not just for the bullied, but for everyone.

In the post What Parents Can Do About Teen Bullying,  there are some great parent tips on how to help kids deal with adolescent bullying such as listening more and talking less, establishing family values, and building authentic bridges between parent and child so a solid support system is created. But what can kids do to stand up to bullies in the moment?

Over the last decade, I have worked with students across the country, seen a broad spectrum of personalities and witnessed many different types of student interactions. Here are six ways I have found to be the best in dealing with bully situations:

1. The most convenient action is avoidance.

If you know when and where the bully is going to be, take a different route. If you are out of sight, then you are likely out of mind which will help in avoiding any conflict.

2. Stand tall and be brave.

Many times bullies prey on those who they think they have power over. They pick on kids who become upset easily or who won’t stick up for themselves because they are an easy target. Eliciting strong reaction from another can make a bully feel empowered. Sometimes, simply standing your ground and not giving in is enough to make a bully back down. How does a brave person look and act, you ask? Standing tall with your shoulders back will send the message, “Don’t mess with me!” It’s much easier to feel brave and strong when you feel good about yourself.

3. CONFIDENCE!

Know who you are, what you want, and what it takes to get you there! What is it like when you look and feel your best? Tap into that emotion and know that no one can take it away from you. Commit to yourself to be the best person you can be. Do you want to be more physically fit? Commit to yourself to turn off the computer and be more physically active for an hour each day and make healthier food choices. The perception we have of ourselves is the reality we send to the world. Be confident in yourself and others will acknowledge you for it.

4. Have a friend and be a friend.

Friends are some of the best tools in standing up to a bully. Make a plan to be with a friend or two when you’re walking home, eating lunch, or just hanging out on the swings. Offer to be there if you know a friend is being bullied. Most importantly, get involved! If you witness bullying in your school, speak up! Tell a teacher, take a stand with the kid being bullied, and show them both what strong confidence and bravery looks like!

5. Never bully back!

Stand up for yourself and remember to never bully back. Fighting back only gives the bully the power of eliciting the emotional response they wanted in the first place. It’s never worth getting yourself in trouble because someone else is being a jerk. It is important to keep your feelings under control. Use your wit. Keep your mind focused elsewhere until the situation is over and you are in a safe environment to let your feelings show.

6. Most importantly, speak out.

Talk to your teachers, principals, parents, even the lunch lady (who always seems to smell like sloppy joes, even on chicken nugget day!) when you encounter bullying to yourself or someone else. Find someone you trust and tell them everything you can. Many times, bullies stop as soon as a teacher finds out because they’re afraid of being punished by the school or their parents. After all, by speaking out you could be saving your own life or the life of a friend. Everyone has the right to feel safe.

Do you have other good ways to handle bully situations? Please share them in the comments below.

So I bet you’re wondering who won, huh?

Can I get a drum roll please?

1st Place

2010 Stanford Senior Forum grad Olivia Ross

Prize: $100 Visa gift card

Olivia (left) with her team, ICandy, during a pre-breakfast cheer.

Runners-Up

Two-time SuperCamp grad Kaela Palmer

Prize: $50 Visa gift card

Kaela, middle, with her team.

-and-

Three-time SuperCamp grad Philip “King Phil” Stone

Prize: $50 Visa gift card

Phil, 2nd in from the right.

Here is Olivia’s “rave”:

Before SuperCamp, part of me was other people’s opinions and actions. Through SuperCamp, I learned how to make the most out of every moment and be myself, not what I thought others wanted me to be. The summer of 2010, I attended Senior Forum at Stanford University, and it changed my life in more ways than I could have ever hoped for.  Lifelong friendships were created, and academic skills were learned that will forever stick with me. I learned life skills that will forever change the way I live. SuperCamp was truly a life-changing event, and it has impacted and will continue to impact my life in a variety of ways.

The best part about SuperCamp was sharing the experience with so many other people. I realized I could be myself and still have people behind me to support me in anything I would choose to do. The support and love created in each camp is… indescribable.  To walk into a room and know 100 people have got your back and understand you more than anyone else is one of the best feelings in the world. The trust I built with my team is one of the strongest bonds I’ve ever felt, and it was easy sharing my feelings with my team members. I knew they were there for me and would support me in whatever I wanted to do. Throughout the course of the camp, I realized I had known these people for less than ten days and I was closer to some than people I had known for years back home. I really carried this feeling of trust home with me, and my relationships with my friends and family have never been stronger. I realized how important the people in my life are and have grown closer to them ever since.

Another part of SuperCamp I took home with me is the 8 Keys of Excellence. I’m on a swim team, and before SuperCamp, in school and swimming, I tried to reach my goals but sometimes they fell through. I kept blaming this on other people or things I couldn’t control. But at camp, I realized that it wasn’t other people, but me all along. The choices I make directly impact my life, and if I follow through with those choices I can do anything I set my mind to. I used the “This Is It” key for the drive to pursue my goals, and the “Ownership” key to own up to what mistakes I have made in the past. I’m striving hard and committing to my choices at home, and living the 8 Keys everyday in every possible situation.  Since camp, my grades have skyrocketed and I have seen success in and out of the pool. Through SuperCamp, I realized I can make life changing decisions. Everything I do, speaks. Everything is a choice.

SuperCamp skills will continue to be something I apply in my daily life. SuperCamp has given me the motivation, determination, and self-will to power through everything and create strong healthy relationships. My self-confidence has increased, and I am living life based on my choices to succeed. The skills I learned this summer will forever stay with me, as will my camp friends, and my SuperCamp Memories. THIS IS IT.

Congrats to our contest winners and thanks to all who participated – you are all winners in our book!

Just because the contest is over doesn’t mean you can’t still share your awesome SuperCamp stories with us! Feel free to comment below or send to cpollock@qln.com.

THIS IS IT!

The earth is traveling through the Universe and around the sun at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour.  If you think about it, we’re all astronauts aboard Spaceship Earth!

Sweet! I’ve always wanted to be on a spaceship!

As corny as it sounds, I kind of like the idea.  Maybe the modern-day version is High School Musical’s “We’re All in this Together.”  It’s true.  What one country puts into the atmosphere drastically affects the rest of us.  An earthquake hits Haiti and generosity from America to Europe to Australia pours forth.  One person starting a “Free Hugs” campaign among their friends can echo across the globe.

The coolest thing about all 6 ½ billion of us chillin’ on Spaceship Earth together is that we are similar, yet so wildly different.  It all comes down to culture.  The way people celebrate the New Year differs drastically from country to country, city to city, even household to household.  The common theme is that we are all celebrating, right? (I’m not sure if there are any cultures that cry all day for New Years but if you find one let me know).  Culture is what unites and divides us.  It’s what gives us context for the ways in which we live our lives.

Oftentimes, we refer to the SuperCamp culture.  This culture includes how we speak, the type of music we play, our styles of learning, and especially our traditions (traditions!).  If you’ve only ever been to one SuperCamp session, it may be hard to imagine that camp could look any differently than the one you experienced.  If you have been to more than one session, you know that camps can look incredibly different from one session to another.  This past summer, I had the awesome opportunity to facilitate at four different sessions – in four different locations: Singapore, Wake Forest, Loyola Marymount, and San Marcos.  It was also my eighth summer working at SuperCamp.

Keeping that in mind, one of my favorite aspects of camp is Team Time.  I love the music, the energy, the dancing, the cheers, the screaming and madness that we Facilitators get to enjoy when we say those three magic words:

“Who Wants It?!”

Team Time is one of those things in camp that, in theory, seems like it should be the same from campus to campus, but in reality can be the most different.  Some camps like to applaud real hard after a cheer, while some prefer to go right to the team representative.  Some dance circles break it down to Vanilla Ice, while others like to “bust a move.”  We all know that power acknowledgements can be all over the place.

I think the best part about Team Time though, is how it defines so much of what we do at SuperCamp.  It’s about supporting each other and celebrating the common experience, while also completely loving all of the things that make us so different.  It doesn’t matter if the team on stage has to start their cheer over three times before they get it, we still cheer for them for so awesomely using Failure Leads to Success.

From my perspective this past summer, Team Time helped define how different each camp was from the next.  The way the kids in Singapore got funky on their dance circle was pretty different from Wake Forest, where half the time it was hard to figure out where the circle actually was because so many people were dancing at once.  The Junior Forum homies at Loyola Marymount loved to “mix it up” at the end of the daily dance-off, while San Marcos couldn’t get enough of the “hand-clap dance” (what what!).

Brown, Stanford, Seattle, Chi-town, and Colorado – everyone had their own amazing Team Time traditions.  It’s what made each camp its own.

Then again, we all have so much in common.  Being up on stage, repping your team – that’s something that every single person who went to camp this summer got to do.  Everyone had a chance to hop in a dance circle, to introduce a crazy new power whoosh, or to yell your team letter until the Facilitator chose you.  These are experiences we all shared whether camp was in Toyon Hall (Stanford) or Hagget Hall (Seattle).  It’s the kind of thing that makes someone stop you in the airport because you’re wearing an “I Feel Good” shirt (actually happened to me).  We may have gone to different camps and shared different experiences, but we have all been impacted by SuperCamp and Quantum Learning.

Knowing that SuperCamp 2011 is still a ways away, what can you do at home to create shared experiences among your friends?  They may have not gone to camp, but it’s very possible that they’d be interested in learning how to “mix it up.”  Or maybe you can create your own new traditions with your friends – most of you probably already have (hint: they’re called inside jokes).  These are the kinds of things that bring us closer to one another.  Shared experiences equal closer friendships.  Closer friendships equal fulfillment.  Fulfillment equals motivation.  And motivation equals getting what you want out of life.

Take a look at this video.  What do you notice about these Team Times?  What similarities and differences do you notice?  Comment below about what you see.

Your task, if you choose to accept it: Post on the SuperCamp Facebook page about one of your favorite traditions at camp.  It could be pretty cool to see how many “strangers” respond with stories similar to yours.  As crazy as life outside of SuperCamp seems sometimes, it’s good to remember that we’re all in this together.