Brittany Bryant
Age 19, sophomore at Benedict College
Camp Coach at Ebenezer Retreat & Camping Institute
Through her summer experience, award winner Brittany Bryant, a sophomore at Benedict College, has learned to better appreciate youth workers. “I always thought that the people that did youth work had it easy and didn’t really have to do anything,” said Bryant. “I was so wrong. I give people that do this on a regular-basis so much respect because this is a difficult job; it takes patience and time because without both of these things you will not be able to do this kind of work.”
Home from college for the summer, Bryant hadn’t yet found a job when she learned that Ebenezer Retreat & Camping Institute (ERCI) needed a coach for the summer camp. Although joining the camp staff later than all the others, Paula Rivera, Director, Operations/Programs at ERCI says, “Brittany came in that evening with an open mind and willing to work. From day one, she was able to organize herself and the girls. As the week went on and the days got longer, she held her stamina.”
Rivera was impressed with Bryant’s dedication to the program and willingness to step outside of her comfort zone. Bryant had never slept outside in a tent, but was determined to make “tent night” happen for the girls in her care. In the middle of the night, one of the campers needed her inhaler. Braving the darkness, Bryant contacted Rivera over the walkie-talkie and headed into the main camp to retrieve the inhaler. She was there in a flash and, just as quickly, she retrieved the inhaler and headed back to the tent before Rivera could remind her not to run in the dark.
“So there she goes…bounce, bounce, bounce…and then the white of the light goes straight to the ground,” says Rivera. Before Rivera could reach Bryant to offer some help, Bryant’s ball was up and moving toward the tents again, at a slower pace this time.
“All was well, Brittany was not hurt and the camper who wanted the inhaler, well, she was fast asleep,” recounted Rivera. “Thanks to Brittany, I was given a new perspective on the meaning of determination.
This summer, Ebenezer Retreat & Camping Institute provided six weeks of weeklong residential camping programs that are educational based and created to stimulate individual thinking, provoke problem-solving strategies, increase methods for coping, and require collective/co-operative group efforts. Their classroom is located within and around 64-acres of natural forestry grounds and facilities, surrounded by a ten (10) mile radius of Indiana Nature Preserves.
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