Endings and Beginnings: An Unforgettable Farewell for Our Senior LTs

For years, PEAK and Lake Valley Camp have centered leadership, responsibility, and our four beliefs in our programming. While those beliefs continue to set the foundation, our staff consistently asks, ‘how do we give campers more opportunities to use what they’ve learned?’. This question sparked the creation of our Leaders in Training program, multiple internship opportunities, and our Senior Trip.

In 2023, the Teen and Community team began planning a special trip to Puerto Rico- something that would act both as a celebration of our Senior Leaders in Training as well as an opportunity for them to practice all of the skills they’ve acquired through PEAK programs. "I feel like we spend three or four years trying to teach our LTs character, trying to teach them how to have resilience and persistence and all this stuff, and for us to not take them into a different community and let them experience that away from their familiar setting would be our failure on our part,” said Liz Sandmire, our Teen and Community Coordinator. In April 2024, after months of planning and fundraising, our T&C staff and eight LTs boarded a plane to Puerto Rico for a week.

The LT’s immersed themselves completely. They did everything from ATV riding to hiking, visiting beaches, walking through Old San Juan, and serving on a local coffee farm for a day. The coffee farm, called Cafe Cumbre Alta, was the highlight of the trip. The owner was once a teacher in Milwaukee and still has ties to the city. In addition to helping on the farm, the group tried locally grown coffee and a meal while learning about Puerto Rican culture. The coffee farm wasn’t the only connection to Milwaukee, however, as the group also met up with C.K., a former PEAK staff member. C.K. acted as a guide for some of the trip, showing our LT’s local beaches, markets, and shops, making their trip a much more personal and authentic experience. One of the most vivid experiences on this trip was visiting Old San Juan. The beauty, energy, and color captivated the group. Mariah, our Teen and Community Manager, said her favorite memory happened when the group stumbled across a restaurant that had music and dancing.  "Everybody went nuts, the girls are dancing, me and Lila are dancing, the boys are dancing... I just remember stopping in that moment and panning the room and everyone was in their own little world just dancing.”

It was moments like these where the group truly connected. The team described multiple times how they were impressed and touched by the LT’s curiosity, openness, and vulnerability. When discussing how the LTs were impacted by the trip, Liz said, “I feel like it was different for everyone.” It was a chance to open up, to connect with nature, and explore the world. Above all, it was their last time together as LTs, a group that had formed deep connections. "I think it was a beautiful experience [for the LTs], it was a great close-out for  them... that group was so close... they were like siblings,” said Mariah.

Another Senior Trip is in the works, this time with more guidance from the LTs themselves. Both Mariah and Liz expressed how important it is for the LT’s to be a part of the process from the beginning, which includes collective decision making and being open to new places, people, and ideas. Stay tuned to see where the LTs head next and the adventures that await them!