Special thanks to SCLA Participant Ben Cober for writing this report!

In November of 2006, experienced camp leaders and students motivated to impact the camping industry gathered at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson, Illinois. Surrounded by lush forest and a brand-new conference center, the students and professionals spent the next few days sharing experiences, life lessons, and mapping the future of the world in youth camps.  The Student Camp Leadership Academy (SCLA) is a weekend workshop designed for students to explore, learn, and understand what the camp professional of the future must be and the leadership opportunities within the ACA structure at the Section and National levels to impact the future of camps and youth development.  The weekend was spent discussing prominent leadership topics such as communication, networking, troubled youth, and much more.   This year’s student group made great headway in helping to pave the way for the young professionals of the camping industry and the challenges they will surely face. Warmed by a nearby crackling fire and overlooking the pristine Lake Bloomington, attendants shared stories of their camping days, their past seasons of summer camp employment, and personal stories of accomplishment and enlightenment. With a combination of personal insight and honest professional guidance from across the country, students from a variety of the nation’s universities and professionals from a diverse collection of organizations collaborated to create a productive, exciting, and inspiring set of tools and visions to be brought out into the camps of our country and the hearts of our children. With the completion of the second annual Student Camp Leadership Academy, we now look into the future for professionals and students to convene again for our third conference in the fall of 2007. The SCLA has been designed as a regional academy to provide additional learning for University students. This program could serve as a pilot model for a similar program in your area of the country.  Please visit www.acacamps.org/scla/ for more information on this event.