Going into Feminist Camp, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I was excited and somewhat overwhelmed with the large list of activities we would be doing and places we would be going in such a short period of time, all of which grabbed my attention in some form. Somehow, Feminist Camp impacted me more than I ever thought it would. From the community of the camp overall to the new relationships with campers to the multitude of networking possibilities I received, I felt that the camp was very beneficial to my education.
All campers met with Feminist Camp alumni at Ceres Gallery for an exhibition titled Women Under Siege.
As a freshman, I feel especially grateful for the opportunity to absorb everything from every meeting we had. While a lot of the campers were upperclassmen, I was one of the youngest of the entire group and was able to explore so many different opportunities in the feminist field. Some people were interested in one day much more over the others, but I was eager to experience everything I could and just try new things. Every day was so different than the one before it that everyone was completely infatuated with a different topic at some point. While I was not particularly interested in philanthropy from the start, for example, I gained a newfound love and appreciation for it. By sitting in on a few court cases in Queens, I also discovered a new interest in law and feminism, and how the two relate or could be more closely related.
I have been to New York City plenty of times before, but Feminist Camp has given me a new look at a place that seemed out of reach for me other than as a tourist destination. While I have studied some feminist theory in class already, I was able to put my words to action and reality for the week. I feel that this was necessary to do during Intersession as it is great to already be networking and getting real life experience that I would not get anywhere else.
(One of many city shots, this one outside of the office for Bust Magazine.)