Brooke Palmer, junior in history, skipped moving home for the summer after her freshman year. Instead, she joined Camp Adventure Youth Services, a summer program run by the University of Northern Iowa in which college students have the opportunity to travel to American military bases to serve children.

This summer will mark Palmer’s third summer in the program.

“I joined Camp Adventure when I was an itty-bitty freshman at Iowa State,” Palmer said. “Initially, what attracted me the most was the opportunity to travel the world, but what kept me around were the kids and other camp counselors that I got to work with.”

Palmer said she grew from the experience.

“This program has forced me to be resourceful, open-minded and a leader,” Palmer said. “I use the word resourceful because there had been quite a few times when my fellow counselors and I would have to scrap together ideas last minute.

“I choose open-minded because you are most likely going overseas to a brand new place with people you have never met,” she said. “Lastly, I picked being a leader because it is impossible to participate in Camp Adventure without having to lead an activity.”

Camp Adventure is about more than stepping out of your comfort zone, but jumping into a whole new culture, Palmer said. Individuals must be courageous and driven to fully devote themselves to the youth services program.

Simon Pena, sophomore in political science, will participate in Camp Adventure for the first time this summer as he was placed in Daegu, South Korea. He joined after he realized his original plans with the Air Force ROTC fell through. 

“I began looking for a meaningful and earnest program to participate in to fill up my empty upcoming summer,” Pena said. “When I first heard about Camp Adventure, I was somewhat skeptical, as I didn’t think there was any way that past participants could truthfully speak so glowingly about it. However, I decided to attend a few informational sessions and interview with them at an event called a Leadership Assessment Center.”

But the people who led Camp Adventure swayed him.

“The zeal and excitement displayed by the Camp Adventure veterans there was overwhelming at first, but as I was accepted into the program and started going through the three months of training, it became more and more contagious. I haven’t even gone to my placement yet and I’m bursting with excitement about it.

“I have yet to meet a Camp Adventure counselor that I did not like, and I am eagerly looking forward to putting my three months of training into effect and working to create magic moments in the lives of the kids that I’ll be working alongside all summer,” he said.

Jennifer Lyon, senior in elementary education will be stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, at Robinson Army base. She said she didn’t know what she was getting herself into at first.

“I had been looking for traveling opportunities that were relatively inexpensive,” Lyon said. “I got an email about Camp Adventure and saw that we get a living stipend while we work with kids overseas. It seemed too good to be true, but I went to the informational meeting anyway and asked a lot of questions.”

Lyon investigated further. 

“I still wasn’t convinced so I drove to Cedar Falls [University of Northern Iowa] to see what it was all about,” she said. “I filled out some paperwork, not knowing what I was getting myself into. Then the next thing I know I’m running through the tunnel of fun, which consisted of two lines of people in khaki shorts, tall white socks and T-shirts that said, ‘Camp Adventure.’ I was a little scared, but loved it right away.”

Last summer, Lyon traveled to Naples, Italy, with Camp Adventure. She reminisced on a favorite memory.

“Every week we had ‘Cream the Counselor.’ We used it as a reward system for kids that were listening and following directions,” Lyon said. “Each age group got to pick a kid and counselor to cream. We just used whipped cream on a plate.”

“It was so sticky and since we were at an outdoor camp where it was black flag days almost every day, the whipped cream spoiled almost as soon as it hit your face and started to smell really bad.

“One day we ran out of whipped cream so we used cream cheese instead. The kids ran off the bleachers to the counselors who got creamed, just so they could have a taste, as if they haven’t eaten cream cheese before.”

“It smelled even worse than the whipped cream and instead of it smearing around like we thought it would; most counselors just had a block of cream cheese on their face. It was a mess, but really funny and the kids loved it.”

Camp Adventure requires true passion for the cause and a willingness to hold Camp Adventure as a top priority, members said.

“Training is now mostly over, and I’m still alive, so the training is obviously very doable,” Pena said. “In addition, the trainers and directors are very understanding and helpful, so while I often felt swamped during the training, I never felt helpless or hopeless.”

“Camp Adventure faculty are very much willing to work with each and every counselor undergoing the training, and they are very supportive as they do so.”

Pena feels the opportunity can’t be matched. 

“Many of these children are looking for something beyond an average summer camp experience, and Camp Adventure more than delivers by setting a high standard for their counselors to make every moment magical by vastly exceeding all expectations,” Pena said. “To this end, counselors always try to create magic moments that last a lifetime — and not just with the group of children, but with each individual child as well.

“However, most importantly, we accomplish this by genuinely caring for each and every child — as compassion and love are the purest and truest routes to ministering to a child’s heart.”