The Steady Hum of Belonging: Why This Was My Best Tawonga Summer Yet

The fire burned low. A guitar nearby strummed three familiar notes. I was shoulder-to-shoulder with people who knew me in the way only camp friends do, having seen me hangry, full of joy, moody, laughing, and crying. We swayed to “Friends, Friends, Friends” like it was second nature. That moment, during our opening campfire at The Burn, like so many others this summer, felt suspended in time – something I could step back into just by closing my eyes.

This past summer was my tenth at Tawonga, but it felt entirely new. I wasn’t just a camper anymore. I was an SCIT (Specialist & Counselor-in-Training). I got to see Camp with both old and new eyes. I worked with the bunks of B-1 and later G-2: different bunks, different energy – same heart. 

I saw how much campers notice, how deeply they trust. I felt the shift from being cared for to caring for others. I was still learning, still messing up, but I was showing up. Helping kids feel seen. Walking beside them as they found their rhythm in the music of Camp.

Before our bunk placements, the SCITs road-tripped to the American River. We bonded through a talent show, a DIY Shabbat, and a chaotic animal-sound game to reveal our units. That trip turned us from a group of teens into something sturdier, connected, grounded, ready.

Then came Session 2. Mornings with our bunks. Midday reunions with fellow SCITs. Shared afternoons of bonding, leadership, and joy. And evenings: bedtime rituals, nighttime chill blocks, quiet check-ins. It was full and fulfilling.

Some moments still echo. On the last night of Session 2a, the kids tackled us CITs and counselors on the sports field. I went down 14 times (their count, not mine). Pure, joyful chaos. In 2b, I taped family photos above a camper’s bed as she told me about each one. Those small acts of care built everything else. 

And through it all, we were cared for too, by our co-CITs, our SCIT cohort, and our incredible counselors. They held us with trust and guided us with grace. It didn’t feel like a performance. It felt like being part of something real. We were expected to show up, to try, to care. And we did.

We learned by doing: serving meals, leading games, soothing homesick campers, cheering at song sessions. Nothing flashy, but all of it mattered. The responsibility felt like purpose, not pressure.

What surprised me most was how deep it all went. Conversations I’ll carry forever, on back porches, in Teen Village, down by the river. Camp is beautiful — the pines, the stars, the river. But what makes it sacred are the memories etched into every corner. The kind of sacred dirt that sticks with you, in your shoes, your voice, your soul.

This was the best summer I’ve had at Tawonga. Not because it was easy, but because it was full. I stretched, I softened, I let go of needing to prove anything. I just got to be: dusty, loud, open-hearted, and in it.

I think about one of our first nights, up on the Ridge, the way we all huddled close under our sweatshirts as the sun dropped behind the mountains. Brady Gill, Assistant Director of Teen Programs, stood in front of us, telling a story – calm, grounded, full of heart. Then we sang “One Tin Soldier,” the song our teen staff had lovingly claimed as ours. They conducted us like they always did, with trust and heart, and we sang along. Our voices were worn from days of laughter and growth and too many rounds of “Country Roads,” but still in harmony. No one rushed. No one looked ahead. Just the hush between words, the closeness of friends, the warmth that lingered.

That’s what I’ll return to when I think of this summer, not one big moment, but the steady, quiet hum of belonging, of purpose, and of being exactly where I’m supposed to be.

About the Author
Miriam Endelman is a senior at The Urban School of San Francisco. She has spent 10 summers at Tawonga and looks forward to working on staff. When not supporting campers as an SCIT, she enjoys playing lacrosse, spending time with friends outside, and reading.

Camp Tawonga’s SCIT program is a four-week offering for rising 12th graders. Applications for SCIT 2026 are due November 5 – learn more and apply here, and see Tawonga’s full 2026 lineup here.