Julia Cira, Camp Director at Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Camp Tanglefoot, is our guest blogger this week. Julia's lifelong dedication to Girl Scouts continues today as she uses her passion to help girls as they travel on their own Girl Scout journey. Thank you for this fantastic guest blog entry, Julia!
If you would like to be our next guest blogger, email us!
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Girl Scouting has been an integral part of my life since I became a Brownie Girl Scout in (at that time) 1st grade. It has provided me with opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and now has given me a chance to be a “Professional Girl Scout” at a place I love, in my role as the Camp Director at Camp Tanglefoot in Clear Lake, IA.
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| Julia Cira Camp Director Camp Tanglefoot Clear Lake, IA I am who I am today because of Girl Scouting and because of Girl Scout Camp. It is a gift that was once given to me, and it is now my chance to pass that gift along to as many Girl Scouts as I can. |
Most of my memories in Girl Scouting revolve around spending part of my summers at Camp Tanglefoot. I loved everything about being at camp – meeting new people, staying in a cabin or tent, swimming in the lake, going canoeing, sailing, singing at the top of my lungs…. It was so neat to go to a place, even once a year, where I always felt like I belonged. To go back each summer and see familiar counselors, and of course, our wonderful Camp Director at the time – Cindy Findley – made it exciting to return.
Currently, at the end of each week of camp, we have a really cool ceremony for the girls that involves an all-camp campfire in a place at camp called “Final Council Fire”, listening to a story we tell only at camp, and then we have a beautiful candle ceremony down at the lake. It is truly magical. At the campfire, girls share the special song their unit has been learning all week, with the rest of the camp. Occasionally I get to play guitar with the groups, or Cindy Findley will play with a group. When I see girls up there really singing and giving it their all – I know in that moment that they are courageous and strong, because nothing about their performance tells me that they’re timid, shy, or self-conscious. That’s how I remember my Final Council Fires as a camper – as if in that single moment of performance I could show the world how much the week meant to me.
Three years ago, I became the Camp Director at Camp Tanglefoot. It is a dream come true for me. I am reminded daily that I have the privilege of walking in the footsteps of the great Camp Directors before me – Cindy Findley and Gertrude Fick. What a privilege it is! Mrs. Fick passed away in 2001, when I was still a young camper. She, just as Cindy does now, returned each week for Final Council Fire. My strongest memory of Mrs. Fick was on the night of a Final Council Fire. After supper you could sit and talk with her if you wanted to, and we were encouraged to stop by and say hello. So, I plucked up the courage, waited until there was an opening, and sat down next to her on a bench. We chatted for just a short time, but it has left me with an impression that will remain in my heart for my entire life. Whatever it was that gave me the courage to sit down next to her, I’ll never know. But especially now, to have a memory like that, is priceless.
Prior to becoming the Camp Director here, I had been a camp counselor for six summers. In that time I held various roles, from counselor to waterfront lifeguard to assistant camp director. (As I still believe, however, everyone who has a role at camp, regardless of what that role is, is first and foremost a counselor – there for the girls first, always.) In that time, and especially through college, I had family, friends, and mentors not only ask but tell me that I should “branch out” and experience other camps to see how they were run. I acknowledge that it was good advice, but I never took it, because coming back to Camp Tanglefoot each summer provided me with knowledge I didn’t have before. Even if I were in the same role as I had been the year before, it was never the same. In hindsight, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am so proud to be able to say to campers, parents and everyone else that I have literally been here every year since the summer before 2nd grade. How cool is that??
I believe in my heart that resident camp is the epitome of the Girl Scout Mission: “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.” If you’ve ever attended resident camp, there is a great chance that you remember your week away from home. Camp today provides a safe environment for girls to learn, grow, gain skills, meet new people, and make new friends. Yes, girls will learn activity skills – like archery – but what often happens is that campers learn, gain, and practice life skills – like independence, living in a community setting, confidence, a chance to make decisions, among others. Girls develop their character and learn more about who they are as an individual, and strengthen their courage as they try new activities, step outside of their comfort zone, and challenge themselves to be a better person.
I am who I am today because of Girl Scouting and because of Girl Scout Camp. It is a gift that was once given to me, and it is now my chance to pass that gift along to as many Girl Scouts as I can.
I invite and encourage every Girl Scout to attend one of our remarkable resident camp sessions this summer at Camp Tanglefoot (Clear Lake, IA), Camp Sacajawea (Boone, IA) or Joy Hollow (Westfield, IA).
Check girlscoutsiowa.org for summer resident camp information at our three camps!
- Julia Cira
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