Callista Salazar loves being a Camp Counselor and does an outstanding job helping campers on the High Adventure Tower
Kai Cher is almost 10. He just started fifth grade and would like you to know that climbing the 40-foot High Adventure Tower at the YMCA Camp Sierra is not a big deal for him.
“I climb the tower a lot so it feels kinda normal. I have done it 50 times! It’s my favorite part of summer camp.”
His fourth summer at Camp Sierra, Kai may just have climbed it 50 times. The gargantuan tower is part of the High Adventure Camp, complete with a ropes course.
He was one of over 5,200 summer camp participants at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA this year. For 10 weeks, campers enjoyed a variety of activities ranging from climbing a High Tower to horseback riding to sports, arts/crafts, swimming, archery and so much more across our 10 Tampa Bay family centers.
Sophia Ortiz, 10, also in fifth grade shares Kai’s sentiments.
“It’s nerve-wracking when it’s your first time on the High Tower, which was last year for me. But now I just love it. I’m a very brave child, so I enjoy it all. I feel lucky to be at Camp Sierra.”
Callista Salazar, 21, has been a camp counselor for three years at Camp Sierra, two of which have been with the High Adventure Camp – she is a belayer (a fancy word for the person who controls the safety rope for a climber) and was busy coaching a nervous climber – successfully.
“Every kid can make it to the top of the tower. It’s just personal barriers and fears that keep them from making it. We don’t force them to get to the top, that’s not the goal. The goal is to get them climbing. Some make it up there in 30 seconds, some take their time. We are here to help,” enthused the biology pre-med major at the University of Florida, who is a future pediatrician.
“It’s amazing to see them make it to the top, especially the ones trying every day. It’s gratifying. My goal is to get them as high as they can – whether it is the first platform or the top! I love being a camp counselor,” she added.
With summer camp wrapped up, Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s Before and After School Enrichment (BASE) department is busy with after-school programs in our six family centers: Bob Gilbertson Central City Y, Bob Sierra Youth and Family Center, Camp Cristina, Northwest Y, South Tampa Y and now including the New Tampa Family YMCA, as well as 25 in-school BASE programs throughout Hillsborough County.
BASE provides quality affordable childcare to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, providing them a safe and enriching environment for learning while parents and caregivers are at work. The initiative comprises a variety of activities, which include homework help, free healthy snacks, structured physical activities and enriching hands-on activities as well as arts/crafts to name a few. We encourage you to register soon as spots fill up fast.
Visit our website for more information about BASE.
Published Wednesday, August 14, 2024.