Silver Falls and Fireside Presentations

Many campers were looking forward to that one particular day - Silver Falls. When the day came, we were all excited for a day of hiking, exploring, and swimming. Silver Falls has 14 waterfalls along with beautiful views of nature. It took us all about two and half hours to hike the beautiful trail. After eating late lunch, we took off to swim in a freezing creek. Some of us enjoyed the water temperature and the others definitely did not. All of us had a great time there and we bonded on a deeper level.

All campers and staff smiled for the camera!

Smiling and cheerful campers!

Cooling off at Silver Falls

Later that night, Luba Douziech gave a phenomenal speech about her life at Fireside. In Edmonton, Alberta Canada, her parents came to a decision - “It would be better for Luba to attend a mainstreamed school to obtain better education.” Years later when she got older and have tried various learning strategies, her father decided to bring her to Alberta School for the Deaf to expose her to the deaf community, so Luba can reach her potential. After interacting with some deaf peers, Luba started to realize that she felt that she shared a lot of similarities with her peers. Several weeks before summer ended after her senior year, her father encouraged her to check out Gallaudet University to experience a deaf-friendly atmosphere. After contemplating her academic choices, she has made a decision to attend Gallaudet University. Luba shared that she had grown into a more confident woman. Being a staff here at Youth Leadership Camp has also made a lasting impact on her. She encouraged all of us to particpate more in organizations while we all are in high school so we can learn and grow into stronger and proactive leaders. We all sure were blown away by her story, a presentation we all will never forget.

Luba Douziech presented her speech at Fireside.

Campers were fascinated by Luba Douziech's life stories.

Andrew Bottoms gave a speech about his experience at Gallaudet. To be more specific, he explained about his memories of the Gallaudet protest for a deaf president. Andrew was involved with the protest because he believed that he was doing a good deed; promoting a better deaf community. We listened to his amazing presentation and we have to remind ourselves to stand strong and support our beliefs.

Bottoms shared his experience.