Camp Inspire began this past summer, teaching students how to become to best versions of themselves. Since then, teens in Warrensburg, Johnsburg and North Warren have continued to develop their leadership skills.

Camp Inspire is made of about 60 students from the three participating school districts. Over the summer, the program mixed summer activities with workshops. There, students discussed things like communication and goal setting.

Since the school year began, the group has been meeting to reintroduce themselves to topics they first discussed in August.

“Whenever we’ve worked on the communication skills or the empathy or the problem solving, it’s allowed us to say, ‘Do you remember when we talked about this; what did we talk about?’ And now we’re going to take it a little bit further,” says Laurie Rinke, Camp Inspire’s director.

All the students who participated over the summer have also taken part in the school year meetings. They say they’re invested in the message and have learned more about themselves along the way.

“I’ve learned a lot just about leadership. Leadership is just described as being a good person but there’s a lot more that we’ve learned throughout the entire camp that there’s so many different aspects to lead,” says Colton, a student in Warrensburg.

For Camp Inspire, these meetings have been critical in order to make sure students stay invested. They’re looking to create long-term growth.

In its first year, the model is already being viewed as a success.

“Last summer, we were one of 10 pilot programs for this nationally and we have been used as an example, our program, as an example to other programs across the country on how to do this and why they should do it as well. So Camp Inspire is inspiring other communities as well,” says Rinke.

Camp Inspire has funding for this summer and is looking to secure enough for the next five years.