PEAK Reflections: A Trinity Fellow's Time at Tiefenthaler
Hello everyone! My name is Gaige Wessling (He/Him) and I’ve been working at PEAK over the last two years as a Marketing and Program Specialist. I came to PEAK through the Trinity Fellowship, a social justice oriented Masters program through Marquette that places graduate students in nonprofits throughout Milwaukee while being a full-time student. I now find myself in my last month of the program, and it is bittersweet to know that I’m finishing my Masters while also approaching the end of my time with PEAK. As I’m preparing to transition into my next phase, I’d like to take a step back and reflect with you on why PEAK has meant so much to me.
Over these last two years, my work has included writing annual reports, doing design and merchandise research, working on the website, and designing surveys and distributing them. While all of those have been great projects, nothing has quite impacted me like the 20th Anniversary Calendar, which was my first major responsibility. I was still brand-new at PEAK, but from the few conversations I had with families and coworkers, I knew there was a rich history here that needed to be told through this project. My first few weeks, if not months, were spent talking with alumni, reading through old documents, and scouring every corner for old pictures and videos that I could use to tell PEAK’s story. What I found was more powerful than what any mission statement or participant testimonial could tell. I saw games, backpacking, and dancing. I heard cheers and songs and Love is Nigh. I could smell the campfires, flowers, and freshly cut grass. Year after year, I could feel the love that the staff had for LVC and the joy that it brought campers. I saw genuine care and respect for Lake Valley Camp - the kind of reverence that passes down through generations of campers and counselors.
Putting together photos for the 20th Anniversary Calendar was like finding needles in a haystack, but it was a truly beautiful experience. Having that as one of my first projects was a blessing. I already felt welcomed by PEAK staff, but the calendar made me feel connected, like I was now a part of the PEAK story. On a larger scale, going through the history of Lake Valley Camp / PEAK also deeply impacted the way that I look at nonprofits and community-centered organizations. I went through every single photo catalogued or stored at PEAK, and through that I saw both the growth of campers over the years and the growth of the organization. PEAK’s programs and impact has grown both exponentially and intentionally. PEAK is not just an example of a youth-centered organization, it is the role model for what mission-driven decision making looks like. With the success of LVC, it would’ve been easy, almost expected, to see the camp grow and grow, increasing capacity and looking to maximize the number of participants. PEAK’s growth has pushed back against that expectation, instead prioritizing more holistic programming that keeps participants engaged year-round. PEAK is a nonprofit that truly puts quality over quantity and longevity over recruitment. Over the years, this looked like the creation of the LT program, in-school field trips, specialty camps, and school year programs like Leadership Labs and Explore MKE. PEAK doesn’t just teach participants leadership skills, PEAK is a place that cares about you, mentors you, and pushes you. Expanding like that and having a program culture of holistic care is not something that comes naturally. It is something that has grown through all of the intentionality and care that’s gone into this organization. It comes from Bill Kellogg’s love and trust that he gave to the first staff members, from leadership’s decisions to become more invested in the community, and from staff building authentic relationships with campers and parents alike. It is a culture that I saw blossom from years of diligent work, and one that is born out of being a true mission-driven organization.
As many campers, parents, and alumni already know, PEAK is a special place. It has been an honor to support the amazing youth development happening here, and it has also been a blessing to have the coworkers that I’ve had. This group is talented, dedicated, and most importantly, loves working with young people and helping them grow. I’m sad that I won’t be able to continue working in this place and with these people that I’ve come to love, and I’m incredibly excited to watch where PEAK goes from here.
Thank you to all of the parents and families I’ve met and to their campers and participants who let me be a part of their PEAK journeys. Thank you to the Youth Programs Team for allowing me to continue working with young people, it was a true joy helping with field trips. Thank you to Nicole and Jenny from the Impact and Engagement Team for allowing me to grow and evolve in this work. Finally, thank you to Erin Fischer and the rest of the PEAK staff for welcoming me in. There is so much love within these walls, and I feel it just as much today as I did when I first walked in. I will never forget my time at PEAK, and I can only hope that my next stop is half as caring, intentional, and impactful as it is here.
- In Service,
Gaige Wessling