Dodge, Dodge, Dodge, Trails, Trails, Trails, I never wanted to leave. The relationships and connections I built with staff and volunteers is something that will always be a part of me and who I am when I walk the streets of my home town or am hiking through the woods.
Each leader I worked with on the trails or in the kitchen at Camp Dodge taught me something different about leadership. Lessons in optimism, patience, worldly thinking, caring of oneself other and the woods, not to mention some killer axing muscles were part of my life everyday during my experience on the Leadership crew. And they weren't lessons that I had to sit at a desk to learn. I learned them by seeing my leaders in action; and when it came time for me to have some responsibility around camp and on the trails I had stellar leaders to model my leadership style off of.
To anyone who wants to learn about themselves, how to positively interact with others and of course the woods, trail work is where its at. It takes mental and physical strength, flexibility and grace, a combination of things that most volunteer and job positions can't boast.
What I took away from my 4 weeks is a set of skills that I will use on future adventures in life and in the many future summers at Dodge and on the trails.
Read about Hannah in the Boston Globe: Here to Help - October 10, 2010
Photos: Hannah Krieger
